Article Category : Resume Presentation

What is a Career Portfolio?The original portfolio used by artists looking for work was simply a collection of works demonstrative of the artists style and ability. Because their works varied in size and shape, portfolios came in all sizes and shapes. Fashion designers would lug a box of their clothing and accessory designs from interview to interview hoping for the big break. Potential employers or commission agents could view the art or garments and decide if applicants were likely to be able to paint or design what they had in mind. In more recent days, people such as architects, whose work has a personal dimension, carried rolls of drawings and photographs to interviews.

Now others have realised the potential of portfolios and jumped onto the bandwagon, but with electronic and physical portfolios.

A portfolio is, according to a dictionary, “A portable case for holding material, such as loose papers, photographs, or drawings. The materials collected in such a case, especially when representative of a person’s work: a photographer’s portfolio; an artist’s portfolio of drawings.”

A reworked definition could perhaps refer to a portfolio as, “a collection of evidence, nicely presented, that job applicants show prospective employers to help present their case.” It might also be an online or electronic portfolio. But whatever we call it, it differs from a Curriculum Vitae or Resume.

Differences between a Portfolio and a Resume

While a resume presents a summary of a job seekers qualifications, experience and special attainments etc, it doesn’t necessarily contain verifiable evidence. This verifiability of evidence has become a challenge for HR professionals as the number of false claims to teriary qualifications and experience increase. A portfolio contains original documentation and certification from appropriate authorities and is therefore less likely to be fraudulent.

This is a great benefit both to the recruiting people and job applicants.

How is a Career Portfolio presented?

If you load a search engine and type “career portfolio” into the search field and press enter, you’ll find dozens of online portfolios. These are excellent tools for such people as photographers, graphic designers and others whose work is highly visual and capable of being displayed cost effectively and efficiently.

I tell my clients to place their original documentation in a binder containing plastic envelopes with heading pages dividing each topic eg,

Resume Writing Tips

Article Category : Resume Presentation

Resume Writing doesn’t have to be a solo gigResume writing can be the bottleneck to advancements in your career. If you find yourself getting writer’s block consider getting help. You can find experts who have written hundreds of resumes; they can help you, too. A good first place to look for help is online job search sites such as career builder or monster.com.

Get help writing resumes that will get you hired

There you’ll find a number of expert writers who can provide you critiques as well as do-overs for resumes. There are some services that specialize in niche markets for executive resumes. You can also find help distributing resumes.

Even if you’re a professional writer, you’ll recognize that these people know their stuff. They’ll help build resumes into effective marketing brochures that people can use to interviews. People often put too much or too little information in their resumes. They may not have the distance to critique their own resumes to decide what should stay in and what should be taken out.

Online job search sites have a number of sources that you can use for your career search. Getting help writing resumes is just one of them. You can also pick up interview tips, learn about career fairs, and get the low down on continuing education. Not only can you learn how to improve your interview skills, you can also learn more about hot careers.

Resume writing tips for the Internet

You need resume writing tips for the Internet because not all resumes are created equally. Sometimes employers will want their resumes in ASCII format only. That means you produce something in Notepad, not Word. You can write your resume in Word but then you make sure you save it in Text format. You’ll lose a lot of formatting when you do this so keep the resume simple and check what it looks like in Notepad.

Getting interviews depends on submitting the right kind of resume

The usual reason why an employer wants the resume in ASCII format is that they scan the resume into their resume bank. This way you might get a call for an interview when you’re not actively looking because your resume was scanned in to the employer’s database of resumes. Here are some tips to help improve how scannable your résumé is:

? Employ ample use of keywords in your resume when you write it. The recruiter uses keywords to search through the database to find resumes.

? Use a simple font, one that doesn’t have curly shapes to it. Look for sans serif fonts; Arial is a good one to try. This is so that the letter shapes don’t confuse the OCR software.

? Avoid bold or italic font. It’s harder for the OCR software to read the text that way.

? If you are using snail mail to get your resume to the company, don’t fold it. Folds in the paper can obscure the writing on your resume.

? Don’t use columns for your resume. It doesn’t get picked up that well by the OCR scanner. Use a single column table format instead.

Consider safeguarding your identity when posting resumes on to the Internet. Minimize personal identifying information on your resume. Create a job search e-mail that you shut down when you don’t need it anymore.

If you enjoyed this article, visit my website Get-A-New-Job

A site devoted to all the things you need to get a new job…education, resume writing tips, interviews, and career strategies.

http://www.get-a-new-job.com

The Interviewable Resume

Article Category : Resume Presentation

It is rumored that the only word William Shakespeare wrote on his resume was “Available.” We’ll probably never know if that is true. But it raises an interesting question. How much information is too much and how much is too little when dealing with resume copy?The resume is a vital piece to any job search. As companies scramble to find the ideal candidate, they use the resume to screen candidates. Done right, a resume builds an instant connection with the reader and helps steer the course of the interview in your favor. If you submit a resume that piques the curiosity of the reader, he or she most likely will ask questions based on the information you provided on the resume as opposed to relying on a pre-packaged questionnaire. That’s how you know you have an “interviewable” resume, when it assists in shaping the course of the interview.

The challenge is, How does one create an “interviewable” resume, one that isn’t boring or sterile? How does one write a resume that motivates the reader to give you a call?

Write with the employer in mind

Cast aside the belief that the resume is about you ? because it isn’t. Though the resume is your “story”, the heart of it should focus on the needs of the employer. When developing your resume give thought to the person who will be reading it. What are his or her immediate concerns? How will you be able to solve that person’s problems?

Though it may be difficult to pin down a company’s immediate concerns before an interview, the reality is that organizations recruit candidates for one of the following reasons: they need to replace an unproductive employee, a peak performer was promoted or left, or a new position has been created. A recruiter usually searches for a candidate who will produce certain results, one that is a skilled communicator and has a strong work ethic. If you are able to target your resume toward these key areas, you will, without a doubt, tap into the organization’s concerns.

Choose your phrases carefully

Sentence starters and appropriate use of action words all determine whether the resume is “interviewable.” Instead of using predictable phrases, think of ways to add punch to your resume. For example, instead of using increased sales by 250%?write delivered a 250% increase in sales?; instead of using ability to effectively?write demonstrated ability to effectively?; and instead of using reduced costs?write slashed costs.

When your resume doesn’t “sound” like all the others on the recruiter’s desk, he or she will take notice. You will be remembered when your resume breaks the monotony of the recruiter’s day. Guaranteed.

Have a consistent message

Don’t try to become all things to all people. If you are a CEO, don’t add a statement that indicates that you are willing to be a Business Manager. If you are a Sales Manager, don’t indicate that you are willing to take on a position as a Customer Service Representative. Get the picture? Determine what you are selling (and looking for) before you put one word to paper.

Determine your major selling points

Though you may share the same job title with many other people, your accomplishments and how you carry out your responsibilities are what distinguishes you from all the other qualified candidates. Focus your resume on not only what you did but also how well you did it. By design, what makes you “interviewable” is how you market your strengths on paper.

About The Author

Recognized as a career expert, Linda Matias brings a wealth of experience to the career services field. She has been sought out for her knowledge of the employment market, outplacement, job search strategies, interview preparation, and resume writing, quoted a number of times in The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, Newsweek, and HR-esource.com. She is President of CareerStrides and the National Resume Writers’ Association. Visit her website at www.careerstrides.com or email her at linda@careerstrides.com

Career Tips: How To Start A New Career

Article Category : Resume Presentation, Career Management

These days most people accept that jobs are not for life anymore. People are more mobile and much more likely to change jobs every few years and even careers a number of times throughout their lives. And it is increasingly common that we may also find that we need to change jobs because of retrenchments, redundancies and closures. Having confidence in your skills and experience and your ability to deal with the challenges of starting over can give you a greater sense of confidence about your career, and whatever life brings your way. 

Get support. Surround yourself with family and friends and let them know your situation. Stay in contact with those you care about and continue your usual social activities. Although you might not feel like it, now is not the time to avoid people or stop socialising. Your support crew will help you to stay motivated and positive and they’ll keep their eyes open for opportunities for you.

It’s not about you. Jobs, not people, are made redundant. Redundancy is now a common term and accepted as a part of modern working life. It’s not a reflection on you or anything you need to feel ashamed about.

Set up a HQ. Create an environment that it conducive to your job-search project. Set up a basic office at home that includes access to a phone, stationary, postage supplies, computer and printer. If you have small children or pets keep them out of this area and ask your children not to answer the phone while you are job searching. If you are basing yourself out of a job café or other facility, be prepared. Make sure that you have the tools you need to apply for jobs that appeal to you, including an up to date resume, referees and an email address.

Create an up to date resume. Create a captivating covering letter. Provide a detailed description of the achievements in each of your roles and the timeframes you have been in the role. Provide all contact details including phone number (land line and mobile), email and where possible a fax number. If you don’t have a fax at home, find someone close to you i.e. local business and ask them if you can use their number.

Get out. Become involved in local networks and community events. Investigate groups that meet regularly in your area and get involved. This is a great way to meet new people, make new contacts and find out about jobs that are available close to home.

Mind your language. Avoid using negative words such as ‘unemployed’, ‘on the dole’ and ‘I can’t find a job’ and replace them with positive perspectives such as ‘I will find a job suitable for me’.

Stay well presented. It only takes seven-seconds to make a first impression. Make the most of your seven-seconds by smiling when you greet someone. Invest in a good suit, if you don’t have one, borrow one for interviews; polish your shoes and ensure that your hair is clean and tidy. It’s easy to get out of the good-grooming habit when you don’t have to do it every day. Remember how important is it both to your self-esteem as well as to people’s first impression of you.

Stay motivated. Finding a new job is hard work; treat it as you would any work assignment ? your fulltime job is finding a new role that you will enjoy. Just as with any job it can be frustrating and especially disappointing when you receive ‘rejection’ letters. Prepare yourself for the fact that you will receive these. They are not personal. Focus on keeping your goals in your mind and remind yourself constantly that there is a role out there just for you, it’s only a matter of time until you find it.

Neen is a Global Productivity Expert: by looking at how they spend their time and energy ? and where they focus their attention ? Neen helps people to rocket-charge their productivity and performance. A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you achieve amazing things. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common-sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity. Find out more at http://neenjames.com/.

5 Tips for Customizing your Resume

Article Category : Resume Presentation

>Gone are the days of the bland, generic one-page resume. Employers these days are more impressed by a resume that is customized and they tend to give jobs to interviewees that have a bit of knowledge about the company.By doing your research, you’re showing initiative, which impresses potential employers. It will also help you decide whether or not you would feel comfortable working for the company, and would fit in with others at the office and the overall atmosphere.

Researching the company can also help you ace the dreaded job interview, since it will give you an idea of what you want to communicate, and how you can incorporate that sentiment into the company philosophy.

Overall, it will decrease stress levels because you’re already just a bit more prepared than the average applicant. So relax? and start your research!

Here are five tips to customizing your resume:

1- Visit the company’s website: read past the obvious introductory pieces. Pay special attention to the layout and design- they should give clues as to the type of company it is. If possible, familiarize yourself with the key players in the company.

2- Go beyond the company site: Google the company name, and read some of the recent news articles, annual reports or any other relevant information you can find.

3- Seek out the competitors: talk to anyone you know who works for one of the competitors to find out how your potential employer is viewed in their industry.

4- Inquire around the water cooler: ask your friends and co-workers what they know about the company.

5- Pick up the phone: call the company, and ask the receptionist their views on the company, including dress code, organization, leadership style, and overall office atmosphere.

About The Author

Jessica Klein is a member of the ‘Mount Real Research Team’, whose aim is to seek out and distribute business information to the virtual public. She is a freelance writer based in Montreal, Canada who loves writing about anything from accounting to zebras.

For more info about Mount Real, visit www.mountreal.com.

jessica@redchilimedia.com

Why Should We Hire You?

Article Category : Interview Tips, Resume Presentation

This is one of those broad questions that can take you down the wrong road unless you have done some thinking about what to say ahead of time. This question deals with your ability to sell yourself. Think of yourself as the product. Why should the customer buy? 

Answers that WON’T WORK -

‘Because I need a job.’ — This answer is about YOU — ‘they’ want to know what you can do for ‘them.’

‘I am a hard worker.’ — This is a really trite answer — almost anyone can say he or she is a hard worker.

‘I saw your ad and could do the job.’ — This answers lacks passion and purpose.

STRONGER ANSWERS that would get the interviewer’s attention –

‘Because I have three years experience working with customers in a very similar environment.’

‘Because I have what it takes to fill the requirements of this job - solve customer problems using my excellent customer service skills.’

‘Because I have the experience and expertise in the area of customer support that is required in this position.’

This is a time to let the customer (the interviewer) know what your product (YOU) can do for them and why they should listen to what you have to offer. The more detail you give the stronger your answer will be. This is not a time to talk about what you want. It is a time to summarize your accomplishments and relate what makes you unique and therefore a viable fit for this position.

Product Inventory Exercise

Start by looking at the job description or posting. What is the employer emphasizing as requirements of the job? What will it take to get the job done? Make a list of those requirements on one side of a piece of paper.

Next, do an inventory to determine what you have to offer as a fit against those requirements. List your skills on the other side of the paper. Think of two or three key qualities you have to offer that match each requirement that the employer is seeking. Don’t underestimate personal traits that make you unique — your energy, personality type, working style, and people skills.

The Sales Pitch — You are the Solution

From the list of requirements and your matching list of what you have to offer, merge the two into a summary statement. This is your sales pitch. It should be no more than two minutes long and should stress the traits that make you unique and a good match for the job.

Example

‘With my seven years of experience working with financial databases, I have saved companies thousands of dollars by streamlining systems. My high energy, and quick learning style enable me to hit the ground running and rapidly size up problems. I have the ability to stay focused in stressful situations, and can be counted on when the going gets tough. I know I would be a great addition to your team.’

Preparing this statement ahead of the interview will give you the edge when asked questions like, ‘Why should we hire you?’ or ‘What can you bring to this position?’ This will be your chance to let the interviewers know that you are the solution to their problem.

About The Author

Carole Martin is a celebrated author, trainer, and an interview coach. Her books, ‘Interview Fitness Training Workbook’ and ‘Boost Your Interview IQ’ (McGraw Hill) have sold thousands of copies world-wide. Receive Carole’s FREE 9-week job interview e-course by visiting her web site at: http://www.interviewcoach.com or http://www.interviewfitnesstraining.com.

Recruiting Excellent Job Candidates

Article Category : Resume Presentation

An independent recruiter, recruiting agency or executive search firm is charged with tracking down excellent potential candidates for available job positions. Despite the fact that there are innumerable people seeking positions of employment in the 21st century, it often seems to a typical recruiting agency that qualified men and women are few and far between.Here are six easy tips that recruiting services, staffing firms, or executive search firms should keep in mind when on the hunt for outstanding potential job candidates in the 21st century.

These tips are equally applicable to companies undertaking their own search without the help of recruiting agency services. Indeed, the headaches associated with finding qualified personnel is magnified for a company undertaking its own recruitment efforts.

1. Post an Ad on an Industry-specific Job Board. Oftentimes, a recruiter will take a scattershot approach to finding candidates that are worthy of consideration for an available position. They broadcast far and wide the fact that a certain position is open and available, in big city newspapers and on major Internet job boards.

If a recruiting agency were more thoughtful about its recruitment efforts, it would realize the benefits of positing an announcement of an available position on an industry-specific Internet job board. By posting in a selective and admittedly limited manner, recruiters and staffing firms would be reaching out precisely to the pool of people most likely to be qualified for an open position.

One excellent tool for finding industry-specific job boards can be accessed at the Online Recruiters Job Board Directory.

2. Use Recruiters that Specialize in a Given Field. As with advertising, choosing an effective recruiter might be just a matter of targeting, particularly for a managerial or executive position. These positions can be very hard for in-house personnel directors and human resource managers. While these people do have responsibility for hiring, the search for a new employee with skills beyond the norm for their company can best be targeted by a professional executive head hunter.

The same can be said for specialized fields, such as accounting or information systems. In-house human resources staff might know all about pharmaceutical skill-sets required for a multitude of research and administration positions, but they might rarely have to deal with hiring staff to track money or to keep the computers functioning. That’s when recruiting agency services specializing in IT or in accounting can come in handy.

3. Develop an In-House Referral Program. In many instances, exiting staff members can help speed up the search for quality job candidates. Employees often have contacts elsewhere within the industry, some of which may be looking for a change of employment.

By cultivating this internal resource, a personnel director can develop a wealth of ready information about prospective employees who might well serve the organization as valued employees.

4. Search Resumes Posted on Job Boards. In addition to advertising on an industry specific job board, a diligent personnel director or recruiting agency will want to take the time to search and consider resumes that have been posted on job boards.

Often, a person pounding the pavement looking for employment may not have the time to take in and review all of the various available positions that have been posted on a every job board. This is even more true if a given prospect is a highly sought-after candidate, who might be still busy in a current position of responsibility.

5 .Use a Directory of Recruiters. Because there are so many different type of recruiters in business in the 21st century it can often be difficult for in-house human resources staff to pinpoint the recruiter that will be best able to meet the needs of a given employee recruitment campaign. But there are resources available, such as directories of recruiters. One such directory is the Online Recruiter Directory.

By using a professional directory, in-house human resources staff will be able to identify the most appropriate resources for their company and for the recruiting task at hand. Even staffing firms can benefit from such a recruiters directory to seek help in a specialized field they don’t often work with.

6. Don’t Rush the Process. Finally, while it is an overused saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” In the same vein, 99 times out of 100 there is no need to rush the process of seeking, identifying and hiring a new employee, particularly an executive level employee.

A personnel director should take his or her time to identify, screen, interview and hire the best candidate. Throughout this process, a human resources manager or specialist will rely on the services and support tools identified in this article.

By using these tips, in the long run the best possible candidate for a given position will end up being hired, and the company will benefit from the best possible employees.

David Leonhardt is an effective SEO consultant from Canada.

Why a Professional Resume?

Article Category : Resume Presentation

As a job search tool your Resume is your main calling card. It explains who you are and what you have to offer. Your Resume is your best chance to make a first impression. An exceptional Resume will help you Stand Out from the crowd. A solid, well-crafted Resume will get you interviews. That’s the Resume’s job - to get you the interview! The professional Resume Writer’s task, in creating that Resume, is to present and sell your skills, abilities and experience in the most professional and appealing way!Your Resume has to capture the reader’s attention within 15 seconds! That’s where a professionally crafted Resume stands above the rest. Your Resume’s main theme and supporting value messages are what capture that attention, inviting the reader to look more closely at your Profile and Background. You need to Stand Out! That’s what your Resume has to do, help you put the best face on your skills, accomplishments and experience.

There are No Second Chances to make a First Impression! Do you want to leave your future to chance with a haphazardly assembled Resume that does not capture Who You Really Are? A professional resume will help You secure that next career move you are now ready to make. It’s called Branding. You are a Brand of One, with a collection of skills, work experiences and training that make You unique in all the important ways.

How Do You View Yourself? Your Resume says a lot of important things, but the one thing it says above all others is How You View Yourself. Yes, you heard me - How You View Yourself! If your Resume is just a cookie cutter collection of facts, figures and dates outlining your work and education history, then this tells the reader you view yourself and your experience as Not Too Important. Which for them means: Not Particularly Valuable.

That’s Why You Need to Stand Out! Don’t expect hiring professionals to read between the lines. Hiring professionals only read what’s on the lines and pause on those statements that send a value message to them. If you care about yourself and value what you have to offer, then a Professional Resume will communicate that and more. The days of using someone else’s Resume as a guide, or relying on some cookie cutter model of resume writing, are over.

Qualifications and Experience are one thing, but Attitude is equally important. You can have all the training and experience that a position calls for, but without a winning attitude, your Resume lands in the pile of “also rans.” What will set you apart from other candidates is that Winning Attitude which is essential to communicate. A Positive Winning Attitude represents Energy. A professionally crafted resume will convey that energetic attitude.

To sum up, you need a Resume that: 1) can sell your qualifications and experience effectively; 2) tantalizes, excites and prompts the reader to want to know more about you; 3) begins to answer the question: “Why should I hire you;” 4) goes beyond the standard formats and presents You as that one of a kind candidate; 5) takes your professional training and experience to the next level, showing commitment, dedication, ability and value; 6) and accurately reflects your positive, energetic attitude.

Maurice Turmel PhD has an established background in Resume Preparation, Cover Letter writing and Interview Coaching. Knowing what Hiring Managers want comes from 25 years experience as a therapist/counselor overseeing dozens of corporate and orgzanizational Employee Assistance Programs and dealing directly with their Human Resources Departments. He is trained in Chronological, Functional, Hydbrid, Strategic and Targeted Resumes, IT (Technical Resumes) included. Curriculum Vitaes and Student Resumes are a specialty. His company “Your Best Resume” provides powerful and distinctive Resumes that consistently win Interviews. All of this can usually be accomplished within 48 hours. Online inquiries should be directed to: drmoe@yourbestresume.com

Work Is A Four-Letter Word

Article Category : Resume Presentation

>I can hear the jokes already and most of them are not politically correct. Let me throw out a word that we often don’t attach to work and yet I think it is a word of redemption, of contribution, of achievement, of community, and ultimately, of legacy.Here it is: LOVE.

Kahil Gibran proclaimed, “Work is love made visible”. I would further clarify his position by insisting that a job is what you do for a paycheck.

Work is what you do for a life. It is that energizing, all-encompassing activity that allows you to bring skills to bear in ways that are satisfying beyond a pay period. It is that activity that saves you from being a faceless number in a mechanistic wheel-hence it holds redemptive powers. It is that activity which makes a contribution to a larger world order. It is that activity from which you sense a measure of accomplishment and achievement. It excites you. It gives you joy. It binds you to a community of people who are stakeholders in what you do.

Ultimately, it has a ripple effect and the potency of a legacy for those who follow.

“Ah come on!” you insist. “How about a garbage collector? A waiter? A store clerk? Who is going to love those jobs?”

Great question. And at face value, it seems that not every employment opportunity has such grand potential. Just take the money, leave it as soon as you can for greener pastures. Screw those miserable bosses. Thumb your nose at the customer.

And tomorrow you die.

That’s it. Plain and simple. While you are looking for the dream vocation, the better work environment, the nicer boss, reality can step in and your one moment on the Planet is gone forever. It’s a reality made even MORE real by current events.

There’s an uneasy shift that has taken us by storm and rattled our plod-along workaday world. Many are paralyzed by the insecurity of the times. The terror of 9-11 and the subsequent global aggressiveness pushed us over the edge. With a wobbly U.S. economy, unsettled change continues to bombard us.

Mega-mergers boggle the mind with the endless zeros streaming behind a behemoth’s financial size. We gasp at the number of employees who are cast off from a consolidated giant. We see plant closures and layoffs in everything from clothing manufacturing to banking. Overnight web companies turn almost under-age youth into millionaires and executives at age 40 are left scratching their heads. Then, dot.coms fail, leaving bewildered employees in the rubble. Wall Street meltdown, corporate greed, and icon-like presidents who crash as fallen idols make daily headlines.

Despite statistics that indicate employment is coming back, there’s pain and inaccuracy behind these cold numbers. We are working more but feeling as if we’re earning less and living in time poverty. Affluenza is an all too common word. The consistent notion that work should be a 24/7 event is being challenged by a rising number of strident voices. And with those voices comes a cry for the most urgent answer to sustainable success: finding meaningful work that makes an impact and lets us live in the bargain. Answer that plea and we’ll unleash a productive and creative power akin to a tsunami.

In short we want to LOVE what we do, who we do it for and who we do it with AND love the life we create outside that work. That’s the essence-the Holy Grail-the mysterious work/life balance piece. Finding that Holy Grail is done by parallel processing, working on two tracks. The first track is to make work “work” for you in your current situation.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to transform wherever you find yourself-even while continuing to search-so that if and when you leave, there’s a faint footprint of achievement, community, contribution and yes, even the memory of a beneficial interaction. Such a transformation allows you to love yourself in the process. It keeps bridges from burning and strengthens a network of relationships that one day you might call upon.

The critical question becomes: how do you turn a “job’ into a “work”-into something that gives you more than a paycheck? No, you might not be able to alter the corporate strategic plan, paint the garbage truck peppermint pink or change a boss from a toad to a prince. But, there are specific action items you can take within your sphere of influence. Too often, we expect management to lead us in career directions, to provide us with recognition, to make “it” a better place.

It’s just like a marriage: there’s responsibility on both sides. Using the tools offered by Bev Kaye and Sharon Jordan Evans in Love it. Don’t Leave It (available at major bookstores), you’ll find a literal alphabet soup of specific action steps to help you take ownership for your life at work

Don’t wait. Time is too precious to squander. You CAN fall in love again.

(c) 2004, McDargh Communications. All rights in all media reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.

About The Author

Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE is one of top-ranked women business speakers in the United States. She’s authored numerous books the newest of which is The Resilient Spirit, radio commentator, and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association. You can find Eileen at http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.

Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com

Are You Sabotaging Your Career?

Article Category : Resume Presentation

My experience working with thousands of leaders world wide for the past two decades teaches me that most leaders are screwing up their careers.On a daily basis, these leaders are getting the wrong results or the right results in the wrong ways.

Interestingly, they themselves are choosing to fail. They’re actively sabotaging their own careers.

Leaders commit this sabotage for a simple reason: They make the fatal mistake of choosing to communicate with presentations and speeches — not leadership talks.

In terms of boosting one’s career, the difference between the two methods of leadership communication is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

Speeches/presentations primarily communicate information. Leadership talks, on the other hand, not only communicate information, they do more: They establish a deep, human emotional connection with the audience.

Why is the later connection necessary in leadership?

Look at it this way: Leaders do nothing more important than get results. There are generally two ways that leaders get results: They can order people to go from point A to point B; or they can have people WANT TO go from A to B.

Clearly, leaders who can instill “want to” in people, who motivate those people, are much more effective than leaders who can’t or won’t.

And the best way to instill “want to” is not simply to relate to people as if they are information receptacles but to relate to them on a deep, human, emotional way.

And you do it with leadership talks.

Here are a few examples of leadership talks.

• When Churchill said, “We will fight on the beaches … ” That was a leadership talk.
• When Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you … ” that was a leadership talk.
• When Reagan said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” That was a leadership talk.
• You can come up with a lot of examples too. Go back to those moments when the words of a leader inspired people to take ardent action, and you’ve probably put your finger on an authentic leadership talk.
• Mind you, I’m not just talking about great leaders of history. I’m also talking about the leaders in your organizations. After all, leaders speak 15 to 20 times a day: everything from formal speeches to informal chats. When those interactions are leadership talks, not just speeches or presentations, the effectiveness of those leaders is dramatically increased.
• How do we put together leadership talks? It’s not easy. Mastering leadership talks takes a rigorous application of many specific processes. As Clement Atlee said of that great master of leadership talks, Winston Churchill, “Winston spent the best years of his life preparing his impromptu talks.”
• Churchill, Kennedy, Reagan and others who were masters at giving leadership talks didn’t actually call their communications “leadership talks”, but they must have been conscious to some degree of the processes one must employ in putting a leadership talk together.

Here’s how to start. If you plan to give a leadership talk, there are three questions you should ask. If you answer “no” to any one of those questions, you can’t give one. You may be able to give a speech or presentation, but certainly not a leadership talk.

(1) DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE AUDIENCE NEEDS?

Winston Churchill said, “We must face the facts or they’ll stab us in the back.”

When you are trying to motivate people, the real facts are THEIR facts, their reality.

Their reality is composed of their needs. In many cases, their needs have nothing to do with your needs.

Most leaders don’t get this. They think that their own needs, their organization’s needs, are reality. That’s okay if you’re into ordering. As an order leader, you only need work with your reality. You simply have to tell people to get the job done. You don’t have to know where they’re coming from. But if you want to motivate them, you must work within their reality, not yours.

I call it “playing the game in the people’s home park”. There is no other way to motivate them consistently. If you insist on playing the game in your park, you’ll be disappointed in the motivational outcome.

(2) CAN YOU BRING DEEP BELIEF TO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING?

Nobody wants to follow a leader who doesn’t believe the job can get done. If you can’t feel it, they won’t do it.

But though you yourself must “want to” when it comes to the challenge you face, your motivation isn’t the point. It’s simply a given. If you’re not motivated, you shouldn’t be leading.

Here’s the point: Can you TRANSFER your motivation to the people so they become as motivated as you are?

I call it THE MOTIVATIONAL TRANSFER, and it is one of the least understood and most important leadership determinants of all.

There are three ways you can make the transfer happen.

• CONVEY INFORMATION. Often, this is enough to get people motivated. For instance, many people have quit smoking because of information on the harmful effects of the habit.
• MAKE SENSE. To be motivated, people must understand the rationality behind your challenge. Re: smoking: People have been motivated to quit because the information makes sense.
• TRANSMIT EXPERIENCE. This entails having the leader’s experience become the people’s experience. This can be the most effective method of all, for when the speaker’s experience becomes the audience’s experience, a deep sharing of emotions and ideas, a communing, can take place.

There are plenty of presentation and speech courses devoted to the first two methods, so I won’t talk about those.

Here’s a few thoughts on the third method. Generally speaking, humans learn in two ways: by acquiring intellectual understanding and through experience. In our schooling, the former predominates, but it is the latter which is most powerful in terms of inducing a deep sharing of emotions and ideas; for our experiences, which can be life’s teachings, often lead us to profound awareness and purposeful action.

Look back at your schooling. Was it your book learning or your experiences, your interactions with teachers and students, that you remember most? In most cases, your experiences made the most telling impressions upon you.

To transfer your motivation to others, use what I call my “defining moment” technique, which I describe fully in my book, DEFINING MOMENT: MOTIVATING PEOPLE TO TAKE ACTION.

In brief, the technique is this: Put into sharp focus a particular experience of yours then communicate that focused experience to the people by describing the physical facts that gave you the emotion.

Now, here’s the secret to the defining moment. That experience of yours must provide a lesson and that lesson is a solution to the needs of the people. Otherwise, they’ll think you’re just talking about yourself.

For the defining moment to work (i.e., for it to transfer your motivation to them), the experience must be about them. The experience happened to you, of course. But that experience becomes their experience when the lesson it communicates is a solution to their needs.

(3) CAN YOU HAVE THE AUDIENCE TAKE RIGHT ACTION?

Results don’t happen unless people take action. After all, it’s not what you say that’s important in your leadership communications, it’s what the people do after you have had your say.

Yet the vast majority of leaders don’t have a clue as to what action truly is.

They get people taking the wrong action at the wrong time in the wrong way for the wrong results.

A key reason for this failure is they don’t know how to deliver the all-important “leadership talk Call-to-action”.

“Call” comes from an Old English word meaning ‘to shout.’ A Call-to-Action is a ’shout for action.’ Implicit in the concept is urgency and forcefulness. But most leaders don’t deliver the most effective Calls-to-action because they make three errors regarding it.

First, they err by mistaking the Call-to-Action as an order. Within the context of The Leadership Talk, a Call-to-action is not an order. Leave the order for the order leader.

Second, leaders err by mistaking the Call as theirs to give. The best Call-to-action is not the leader’s to give. It’s the people’s to give. It’s the people’s to give to themselves. A true Call-to-action prompts people to motivate themselves to take action.

The most effective Call-to-action then is not from the leader to the people but from the people to the people themselves!

Third, they error by not priming their Call. There are two parts to the Call-to-Action, the primer and the Call itself. Most leaders omit the all-important primer.

The primer sets up the Call, which is to prompt people to motivate themselves to take action. You yourself control the primer. The people control the Call.

The primer/Call is critical because every leadership communication situation is in essence a problem situation. There is the problem the leader has. And there is the problem the people have. In many cases, they are two different problems. But leaders get into trouble regarding the Call-to-action when they think it’s only one problem, mainly theirs.

For instance, a leader might be talking about the organization needing to be more productive. So, the leader talks PRODUCTIVITY.

On the other hand, the people, hearing PRODUCTIVITY, think, YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE ME MORE WORK!

If the leader thinks that productivity is the people’s problem and ignores the “more work” aspect, h/she’s Call-to-action will probably be a bust, resulting in the people avoiding committed action.

Let’s apply the primer/Call dynamic to the productivity case. The leader talks PRODUCTIVITY: but this time uses a PRIMER. The primer’s purpose is to establish a “critical confluence” ? the union of your problem with the problem of the people.

In this case, the leader creates a critical confluence by couching productivity within the framework of MORE MEANINGFUL WORK.

The primer may be: LET’S GET TOGETHER AND SEE IF YOU CAN COME UP WITH AN ACTION PLAN THAT WILL ENSURE THAT THE PRODUCTIVITY GAINS YOU IDENTIFY AND EXECUTE WILL ENABLE YOU TO WORK AT WHAT’S REALLY MEANINGFUL TO YOU.

Note what we’ve done: The primer is LET’S GET TOGETHER AND SEE IF YOU CAN COME UP WITH AN ACTION PLAN.

The actual Call is from the people to themselves: LET’S INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY WORKING AT WHAT’S MEANINGFUL.

With that Call, the leader moves from just getting average results (YOU MUST BE MORE PRODUCTIVE: i.e., you’re going to solve MY problem) to getting great results (YOU COME UP WITH WAYS TO TIE PRODUCTIVITY INTO MEANINGFUL WORK: i.e., you’re also going to solve your problem.)

So, here’s what the leadership talk Call-to-action is truly about: It’s not an order; it’s best manifested when the people give themselves the Call; and it is always primed by your creating the “critical confluence” — they’ll be solving their problem as well as yours.

The vast majority of leaders I’ve worked with are hampering their careers for one simple reason: They’re giving presentations and speeches — not leadership talks.

You have a great opportunity to turbo charge your career by recognizing the power of leadership talks. Before you give a leadership talk, ask three basic questions. Do you know what the people need? Can you bring deep belief to what you’re saying? Can you have the people take the right take action?

If you say “no” to any one of those questions you cannot give a leadership talk. But the questions aren’t meant to be stumbling blocks to your leadership but stepping stones. If you answer “no”, work on the questions until you can say, “yes”. In that way, you’ll start getting the right results in the right way on a consistent basis.

2004 ?The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

About The Author

The author of 23 books, Brent Filson’s recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. ? and has worked with thousands of leaders worldwide during the past 20 years helping them achieve sizable increases in hard, measured results. Sign up for his free leadership ezine and get a free guide, “49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,” at http://www.actionleadership.com

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