Transferring Skills from Motherhood back to the Workplace - Career blog - Position Ignition - taking you to the next step in your career

You’ve taken a career break for children and now you’re returning to work. Whilst many mothers feel that time out automatically equals losing their career skills, in fact the very opposite can be true.

Motherhood is, in fact, practically guaranteed to increase your skills set.

The transferable skills you develop as a parent are no different in variety or value to the type of skills that can be acquired during other key stages of your life and career, such as marriage or your first full-time job. Being a stayhome parent is, after all, absolutely one of the greatest challenges there is.

Like any form of care, childcare takes it out of you emotionally, physically and mentally-especially when the children are your own! Successfully looking after your children involves continuous multi-tasking, managing your energy levels and maintaining a laser focus, not to mention clear goal setting, calmness in the face of emergencies and the ability to think outside the box.

It’s really not a stretch to see how all of these skills are vital in a busy, pressurised workplace.

In an ideal world, you would be equally adept at all the above competencies. In reality, the skills that can be acquired through parenting are so innumerable that no one will have them all. Even if you did, not all of these aptitudes will be appropriate or necessary to your particular line of work. So how do you identify which skills you’ve picked up and whether or not they’ll be useful in your work life? Here are a few ways:

• Get feedback from others around you as they will see how you’ve developed.

• Self-reflection –take time to think about which new skills you’ve developed. Try making a list of actions you take during the week and then listing the skills they deploy. Consider the settings, pressures and essential outcomes. What did you do, why did you do it and what was the result? Where else could these actions be valued?

• Think about which skills you’re using whilst you’re actually using them, then consider how they could be used elsewhere. For example, the next time you’re making up a bedtime story with your child, acknowledge the fact that this takes imagination and communication skills, which can be converted into workplace creativity and efficient teamwork.

Of course, it’s all very well thinking about using your new skills once you’re back at your old role, but what if you’re not actually going back there? What if you’re instead looking for a new position, or even career? The lessons you’ve learnt will be just as valuable. Creatively use your parenting experiences to sell yourself to prospective employers. Consider seeking out voluntary opportunities where you can use your newfound skills in the wider world as well as build up experience relevant to your desired career path. Get involved with a charity or offer yourself pro bono work to those you know. Training and professional development are also options which must be seriously considered; it’s worth investing in yourself.

If you don’t know even which career direction you want to go in then making a career plan by yourself might seem like an overwhelming challenge.

This is where an external opinion can be vital. High quality career guidance from an experienced professional (see Position  Ignition) will give you the benefit of an objective and informed viewpoint, allowing you to make decisions from a much stronger platform.

• A key element of self discovery is to review past achievements and the especial skills demonstrated in effecting those successes.

• Ask yourself what your passion is, then consider how to get paid for what you love!

• Get hold of tools such as Tom Rath’s StrengthsFinder; the book is available online and in good bookshops

• Gather more information about your specific career interests by networking and making contacts. Don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions. If you decide to set up your own business, take huge confidence from the fact that motherhood has definitely taught you how to juggle tasks and seize opportunities!

• To brush up on specific skills before returning to work, there are plenty of ways to do this.

• Take advantage of the many adult learning opportunities there are at local further education colleges. A directory such as Hotcourses gives you an idea of the variety of classes, subjects, timeframes and price ranges.

• Get a friend to train you in a specific skill in exchange for you doing something to help them. Practice at home and go to the library to get the relevant books out if necessary. The Dummies series covers almost everything.

• Still not confident that your parenting skills are going to help you back at work? Don’t expect too much of yourself-take everything one step at a time, in bite-sized chunks.

• Recognise that some goals need to be worked towards and will not be arrived at with one leap. It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop. In the words of the late American football coach Vincent Lombardi, “Winners never quit, quitters never win”.

• Reflect on those other key stages of your life where testing circumstances demanded reasoned confidence in one’s own ability and where success was achieved.

• Focus on networking to find people who’ve done what you want to do and then talk to them about how they did it. Ask intelligent questions.

Yes, identifying and transferring your parenting skills to the workplace is not an automatic process, but with enough thought, preparation, patience and action it is possible. And the real prize? Absolute recognition that taking a career break to parent children can truly be one of the best career moves you will ever make!

About the Author:

Mary Cope is a Position Ignition Career Guide who is passionate about helping individuals move to the next step in their careers.  She has had a highly successful career as HR Director for several top firms all at the same time as being a proud mother of three.

Position Ignition is a modern day careers advisory firm helping individuals take control of their careers.

For more information about Mary or to get some help with your career visit: www.positionignition.com

For similar free articles and blogs: Position Ignition Career Blog

via positionignition.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Reminding Your Network That You’re Looking » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

Recently I spoke with a woman who has been looking for work for some time.  She devotes a significant amount of time each week to networking activities.  She said something that stood out to me: “I wake up every day and think about being unemployed, but my contacts don’t think about me until I remind them”.

Remind your contacts that you’re looking

All too often, those who are looking for work feel embarrassed to repeatedly go to their contacts and mention that they aren’t working.  Because of this, one of the key components of networking with people you already know is talking with them about subjects outside of work.  Invite them to coffee and talk to them about their kids.  Have people who are well connected over for a cookout; this allows your contacts an opportunity to help you out but keeps your relationship on the equal footing upon which it was founded.

Be prepared when people ask about your job search

If you think about it, there are a lot of people in your life who may not really understand what you do.  My own parents are a perfect example!  Because you want your contacts to think strategically about how their network can help you, it’s really important to have a quick summary of your career goals (aka your elevator pitch) ready to go when they ask.  Keeping it short and sweet not only keeps their attention but helps them to remember what you said two weeks later when they run into a perfect contact for you.

Keep yourself busy in the meantime

It’s truly difficult to feel equal to your peers who are working when you are not.  After all, your daily lives are substantially different—they get dressed and go to work every day.  One way to mitigate feeling like the odd man out is to keep yourself as busy as possible.  Whether you fill your time with volunteer work, continuing education, networking, or all of the above, staying busy keeps you emotionally fulfilled and interesting—which makes your contacts want to be around you and help you out.

As long as you have a clear career goal and keep yourself busy working toward it, there’s no reason to be embarrassed about reminding your network that you’re still job searching.  As my colleague said, they’re not thinking about you unless you remind them!

For more resources and career related articles for jobseekers visit http://www.greatresumesfast.com. You can also request a free resume analysis by submitting your resume via e-mail to info@greatresumesfast.com.

via greatresumesfast.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

How to Help the Hiring Manager Be Decisive and Make You the Offer! » Blog | Great Resumes Fast

Answering objections in a job interview is a skill you’ll always need. Usually, objections are focused on individual, case-by-case issues, but right now it’s the uncertain economy that’s keeping some sales managers on the fence about hiring new sales reps.

So here’s a tip for you: If you can see that the hiring manager’s waffling a little bit, and you think it’s indecisiveness, help him remember what his last great hire did for him:

“I’m sure there was another time when you were wondering if it was the right time to hire someone. But if you hired the right sales rep, you realized that it didn’t really matter what the state of the economy was. A great sales rep will make a change. They’ll make a difference, and they’ll put money in your pocket. And I’m that person.

The economy is not relevant. I am a great salesperson and you need a great salesperson in this economy. Move forward. Let’s do it today…together. Let me help you meet your goals. You can’t keep waiting.”

Help him. Address his concerns. Address the indecision. Ask if, in a month, if he were in the same place, would he regret not having moved forward with someone who, by then, would be completely trained, even have met with clients, and probably already made some sales. Or would he regret losing that month by not hiring someone?

Here’s a bold move: Say, “In three months, if I’m not doing my job, fire me. Let me go if I’m not doing what I say I can do for you, if I’m not getting to know your clients and driving business, at that time.”

Some candidates might be very uncomfortable with that, but the truth is, if you’re in sales and you’re not performing, they’re going to fire you anyway.

Telling the hiring manager this is only going to help him remember that and alleviate his fears about hiring you. It’s extremely freeing for the hiring manager, and makes it easier to make the decision to hire you.

Peggy McKee has over 15 years of experience in sales, sales management, sales recruiting, and career coaching. Her website, Career Confidential ( http://www.career-confidential.com ) is packed with job-landing tips and advice as well as the practical, powerful, innovative tools every job seeker needs to be successful.

via greatresumesfast.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Resume Help & Career Advice by Mary Sevinsky : CAREEREALISM

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Mary Sevinsky

Looking for work can be difficult in the best of times…these are not the best of times. Advice about résumé writing abounds and experts offer astoundingly different opinions. How is a job seeker to know which advice to follow? The bottom line:  no one way is the right way for everyone.

For the job seeker, it is best to read as much as you can about how to write a résumé and how to job search. If you are looking for work you might want to check out my job search column. Sort through the information and think about it in terms of your particular situation. Some things to consider include your strengths and weaknesses as a job candidate. Think about your:

Work history
Skills
Education
Type of employment you are seeking
Competition
Age

Your résumé should emphasize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. A job seeker should ALWAYS seek a second opinion (or a third or fourth). If possible, seek out the assistance of an expert – this is money well spent and a good résumé writer can be invaluable in helping you to stand out to employers who might not otherwise consider you.

Whether or not you seek the advice of a professional, some key areas to consider follow. It is important you give these résumé sections the deliberation they need to present your qualifications in the best possible light.

Objective vs. Profile

There is a lot of debate about which is the correct approach. Some experts tout the Objective as the way to go to be considered seriously by an employer as it commits you to a specific path that is [hopefully] in line with what they are looking for. Others recommend a strong Profile or Summary Statement outlining the best of what you have to offer and, essentially spoon-feeding the employer every good thing about you.

However, neither is going to be right or wrong in every case. The trick is to examine YOUR qualifications and how to present them to an employer in a way that will make you seem a good candidate for the opening the employer has. A job seeker may use an objective to apply for one job and a profile in another instance. There is no black and white in résumé writing.

Functional vs. Chronological

The chronological résumé is the traditional format that most are accustomed to: Work History is detailed in order of date, usually most recent first, with duties outlined either in bullet or paragraph format beneath.

A functional résumé is more modern in approach and emphasizes skills over work history. The Skills or Qualifications sections are often split into several subsections. This can make it easier for employers to scan your qualifications to quickly see if you might have the skills they are looking for.

Reported estimates are employers take 30 or even as little as 10 seconds to screen résumés. For this reason, a functional résumé is most often the format to use to apply online or secure the first interview. A more detailed, chronological résumé can be presented in a first or second interview if appropriate.

Skills

Subheadings with meaningful titles should be used to allow the employer to quickly scan a résumé to see that you may have what they are looking for. Use no more than three or four, otherwise the purpose may be defeated.

Group your skills from all of your jobs, past and present, under these subheadings. Use current voice – just because you are not working at a job currently doesn’t mean you don’t possess this skill! Likewise, include skills from unpaid positions as well as paid.

Work History

Again, include paid and unpaid positions – give yourself credit for everything you know and can do. If you don’t, no one else ill.  If you don’t have a skill or experience required for a position you would like to pursue then volunteer or intern to acquire the missing attribute.

Be forward thinking about your résumé and your career. Most people don’t work for the same employer for 30 years and retire with a gold watch these days. Plan now for your next job change if you are working. If you are looking for any job in the storm now, be mindful to plan beyond that next job.

Education

Depending on your age and background, you may choose not to include an Education section or to omit years if you are a mature worker. Or you may choose to list certificates and other training pertinent to the job you are applying for. Employers may assume you have a college degree based on your background unless you list High School Diploma in this section, for example.

If you have studied a topic or area of interest through the internet, or books and articles read then find a way to include them in this section. Be creative in terms of your presentation and in getting credit for what you do know or can do.

References

Only give references when asked. This way you can give references:

• Who will be helpful to making you look good for the particular job you are applying for.
• A call to prepare them to look for an unknown number
• Some pointers on what kinds of attributes you have that they can emphasize.

There are, of course, so many other things to consider when writing a résumé, for example:

White space
Font
Balance and centering

But, thinking about the sections included above should get you started in the write direction. Just remember any résumé is a work in progress and should be examined and tweaked regularly in general and in considering specific jobs or employers in particular. In short, a résumé is always a work in progress. Good luck!

Did you enjoy this article? You can read more articles by this expert here. Also, check out all of our free webinars!

CAREEREALISM Expert, Mary Sherwood Sevinsky is a Masters-prepared Career Counselor with over 18 years experience in resume writing, personal branding, career assessment and counseling. Specializing in non-traditional specialized careers and career-transitioning, she has the ability to synthesize and focus your unique skills and abilities to obtain interviews for the positions you want with the employers you want to notice you. Follow her on Twitter at @MarySevinsky.

The photo for this article is provided by Shutterstock.

via careerealism.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Flipping Burgers Leads to Fulfilling Careers - Careers Articles

As college graduates face the worst job market since the Great Depression, some will have to start their careers at the bottom of the ladder. Even with a college degree in hand, flipping hamburgers is a potential job, although not much of a career move.

Or is it? For many people, a fast-food job is a memory from high school that they'd rather forget. But for others, flipping burgers was just the start up the ladder in the fast-food industry. From wearing hairnets, washing dishes and cashiering to managing and eventually owning their own restaurant, here are two tales of fast-food workers who turned a job into a career and have some advice for young professionals who are flipping burgers.

From McDonald's crew to restaurant owner

James Valentine, 54, started at age 16 working at a McDonald's restaurant as a crew person and worked his way up through the system to supervising multiple stores. He left McDonald's after 12 years to become his own boss. In 1985, he became the very first franchisee for Cousins Subs, a 150-store, Menomonee Falls, Wisc.-based, restaurant chain.

Today, Valentine and his wife, Leah, own and operate six Cousins Subs restaurants throughout the Milwaukee metro area. Together the pair have seven children, most of whom work by their side.

His advice to people starting in this business is to be humble. "You have to enter the job with the mindset you are there to serve, not to be served," Valentine wrote in an e-mail interview. "This is especially true in the restaurant industry, but is a valuable lesson for people in all work environments. If you come to work every day ready to learn all aspects of the job and to work harder than those around you, with a positive attitude to be the best that you can be, you will get the attention of upper management. They will recognize that you are a results-orientated person and a high performer."

He also recommends being prepared mentally to deal with the attitude of people toward "hamburger flippers."

"I have seen how this attitude can be an obstacle for some and cause them to stumble or feel inferior to those expressing such an arrogant attitude," he wrote. "Remember you are there to SERVE, so be humble. Have a 'servant's heart' and you will learn to not let that affect you. As you climb the ladder you will see that this is part of your on-the-job education."

Bus boy to business owner

Steve Bohn, 38, has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 25 years. Starting out as a busboy at 13, Bohn worked his way up through the system to grill cook, shift leader, kitchen manager and eventually general manager. He worked in the kitchen until 1997, when he was promoted to the floor.

In June, Bohn and business partner Forbes Watson opened Newk's Express Café -- an express casual dining franchise with more than 25 restaurants in seven states -- in Farragut, Tenn. Bohn is the operating partner, running day-to-day operations. He and Watson plan on opening two additional locations within the next 18 months in the Knoxville metro area and a total of five locations within the next five years.

Bohn's advice to workers starting out by flipping burgers is good advice to anyone starting in any business: learn without being asked. "Move yourself around and lend a hand in areas that may not be your responsibility," he wrote in an e-mail interview. "Remember that the more you know, the more you're worth. When I'm hiring young adults, initiative is the No. 1 thing I look for. You have to be someone who is a team player and ready to wear every hat."

People skills are important, both with customers and employees, he said. "You gain many loyal customers because of the people who serve them on each visit and the personalities in your restaurant," he said.

He stays in the business because each day is different. "When you come in to work every day, you never know what will be thrown at you that day, but this business has forced me to become quick on my feet and learn how to come up with solutions to every problem imaginable."

The good news, as Bohn points out, is that restaurants are always hiring, and eager people who learn everything they can about the business can turn flipping hamburgers into a rewarding career.

via jobs.aol.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Musician Wants to Get Into HR But Lacks College Degree - The Career Doctor Blog

Suzanne writes:

I really need your advice. Because of various factors, I’ve come to a career crossroads and need some advice as to what I should do next, how I should sell myself, etc.

I’ve been a musician most of my life, so I didn’t follow a traditional career path. I have held various retail management positions and over the past 10 years, I have had my own residential cleaning service. The business was successful until two years ago when we moved from Atlanta to a more suburban area. With rising gas prices, a slowing economy and the fact that a lot of families here are single income, business has fallen off sufficiently that I have come to realize that I need to make some changes in my work life.

I didn’t finish college, so earlier this year I decide to look into some continuing-education courses. After speaking with some people active in the human resources field, I decided to take an intro course in human-resources management. I was told that completing the course would show a willingness to learn and would be attractive to potential employers. When I started looking for a job, every entry-level listing required a four year degree. It appears that this avenue is not open to me at this time. I’ve also considered enrolling in a medical-billing program. It may yet be an option for me.

I stumbled across your site while looking for cover-letter examples, and took a career test. It revealed that I would be good at some of the positions that I’ve already been considering. How can I translate skills used from retail and the cleaning business into something that will attract employers? I’m currently looking at a job as a receptionist at a small law firm. Do you have any ideas on how to approach this? I have basic office skills, I am a fast learner, and am very good with people.

---

The Career Doctor responds:

Despite the bad economy and your situation, you should try if at all possible to identify a new career path that you are passionate about.

One thing I know for sure is that you DO have transferable skills. Think particularly about the entrepreneurial skills it has taken to run your cleaning business and deal with customers.

When you were looking for HR jobs, did you actually get any interviews, or were you scared off just by looking at degree requirements in ads? While that path may be closed to you, it may not. There really may be employers willing to take a chance on you if you show them you are willing to finish your degree.

If you truly want to go after the law-office job, you can frame your transferable skills using our Transferable Skills Worksheet. (You can use it for applying for other jobs in the future, as well).

While your economic situation may be suffering at the moment, I would suggest that it would be well worth investing in a career coach who also writes resumes. This coach can help you identify what you want to do next, help you frame your skills, and write your resume. I recommend one of the practitioners from the Career Management Alliance.

Good luck!

via careerdoctor.org

Posted via email from AndyWergedal

Do People Like Your Personal Brand? | Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel

How much people like you will have a direct impact on your career and almost everything you do, but being liked is a relative thing.

True story

At a former company of mine, there was an engineer who was overwhelmed with work. We’ll call him Tom. This 8-year veteran of the IT department – his first job, still a young guy – clearly had too much on his plate and it resulted in delayed projects and even undelivered projects.

Finally, Tom’s boss convinced company management to grant them a headcount so that a 2nd engineer could be hired to help the first one.

To their good luck, they quickly found a very smart, talented engineer who was immediately available for a full-time role and Steve was quickly brought on board.

During his first year on the job, the new engineer blazed a trail. Steve…

• completed many projects, including new ones that he’d suggested, and which created new potential streams of revenue
• documented internal procedures for the first time, which led to careful analysis and efficiency improvements
• wrote software that made other team members’ jobs easier
• gave an internal class on new, business-critical technology and
• even participated in the recruiting of engineers in other parts of the company.

And all this while Tom continued to struggle with his workload, resulting in delayed projects and even undelivered projects.

Unfortunately, times were tough for the company and as part of their cutbacks, they decided to lay off one of these engineers.

Which one do you think was laid off – Tom the straggler or Steve the star?

You guessed it right- Steve’s first year on the job was his only year on that job.

Why the layoff choice

Like the stereotypical nerd, Steve had some social skills issues. He was very sharp at understanding the root of a problem quickly and at a proposing a good solution just as quickly. However, his matter-of-fact manner irritated team members who felt that he made them look bad as a result of not having seen the solution themselves.

Also, Steve’s analyses led to much constructive criticism. Even though Steve was a target as much as anyone else for his own criticism,  the pre-existing team culture had none of that and the team – including the manager! – didn’t want it.

Contrast this with Tom, who’d been in his job for years with the same people, who were by now all comfortable with each other and who’d built their team culture together.

Conclusion

Tom was liked, so he kept a job that he struggled at.

Steve wasn’t liked, so he lost a job that he excelled at. However, he then moved on to another company that had a more success-oriented culture. He excelled there too, and was liked.

Just because you’re not liked doesn’t mean you’re not likable.

Author:

Jacob Share, a job search expert, is the creator of JobMob, one of the biggest blogs in the world about finding jobs. Follow him on Twitter for job search tips and humor.

via personalbrandingblog.com

Posted via email from AndyWergedal