The Real Hidden Job Market Exists Valerie Gonyeas Experience

The Real Hidden Job Market Exists Valerie Gonyeas Experience Valerie Gonyea is one of my favorite people she recently posted this on Facebook: So, lemme tell ya a little story about the hidden job market. It does, in fact, exist. You just have to believeand not in that airy fairy kinda waymore like in the clap-your-hands kinda way. Because it does take action on your partyou do have to reach out and network and ask and offer in return, etc.I cant get into why (it doesnt really matter), but I have chosen to move on from one of my clients. But before I did that, I wanted to be able to make up for the loss of billable hours. I reached out to only and exactly TWO people in my network. One of them talked to the CEO of the company about me andwhaddya knowthe CEO and the CFO had just started to come to the conclusion that they needed some help. Someone exactly like meand not full timemaybe just 1-2 days per weekwhich just so happens to be exactly the amount of time I was going to give up. A VERY cool company, run by VERY cool peopleeverything is setup as online as possible. I am thrilled! So, if youre looking to move on someday, make sure you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile and a strong network infrastructure and then go WORK IT! In the comment thread, she continued: Oh, and another follow up to the storyinstead of just following up with a normal thank you note, I followed up with a LinkedIn invitation thank you notethey both acceptedand it gave me the opportunity to bring them to my profile that had all of my recommendations on it The hidden job market has been defined as job opportunities that exist but arent posted for the public to know about them.  In other words, once its online, or on a job board, it is not hidden. In this example, this opporunity came when the CEO and the CFO had just started to come to the conclusion that they needed some help.  Who knew about it?  NO ONE.  It was hidden.   No one could have known about it because the to CxOs had just started to come to the conclusion this was far from being posted online, and far away from them going to a recruiter to find talent. Valerie tapped into the hidden job market (which is what we all want to do) by, as she said, working it.  She reached out, and Im sure she let the two people she reached out to know who she was (what kind of work she does) and what she was looking for.  She did it in a clear enough way that they could communicate that to their network and it worked. Will you talk to only and exactly two people?  Probably not some people talk to two hundred plus people. but talking is where it is at.  Valerie probably had NO competition in the decision-making phase contrast that with the idea of being one of hundreds of resumes submitted online. Think differently about where you spend your time.  This concept would have changed the way my job search went entirely. The Real Hidden Job Market Exists Valerie Gonyeas Experience Valerie Gonyea is one of my favorite people she recently posted this on Facebook: So, lemme tell ya a little story about the hidden job market. It does, in fact, exist. You just have to believeand not in that airy fairy kinda waymore like in the clap-your-hands kinda way. Because it does take action on your partyou do have to reach out and network and ask and offer in return, etc.I cant get into why (it doesnt really matter), but I have chosen to move on from one of my clients. But before I did that, I wanted to be able to make up for the loss of billable hours. I reached out to only and exactly TWO people in my network. One of them talked to the CEO of the company about me andwhaddya knowthe CEO and the CFO had just started to come to the conclusion that they needed some help. Someone exactly like meand not full timemaybe just 1-2 days per weekwhich just so happens to be exactly the amount of time I was going to give up. A VERY cool company, run by VERY cool peopleeverything is setup as online as possible. I am thrilled! So, if youre looking to move on someday, make sure you have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile and a strong network infrastructure and then go WORK IT! In the comment thread, she continued: Oh, and another follow up to the storyinstead of just following up with a normal thank you note, I followed up with a LinkedIn invitation thank you notethey both acceptedand it gave me the opportunity to bring them to my profile that had all of my recommendations on it The hidden job market has been defined as job opportunities that exist but arent posted for the public to know about them.  In other words, once its online, or on a job board, it is not hidden. In this example, this opporunity came when the CEO and the CFO had just started to come to the conclusion that they needed some help.  Who knew about it?  NO ONE.  It was hidden.   No one could have known about it because the to CxOs had just started to come to the conclusion this was far from being posted online, and far away from them going to a recruiter to find talent. Valerie tapped into the hidden job market (which is what we all want to do) by, as she said, working it.  She reached out, and Im sure she let the two people she reached out to know who she was (what kind of work she does) and what she was looking for.  She did it in a clear enough way that they could communicate that to their network and it worked. Will you talk to only and exactly two people?  Probably not some people talk to two hundred plus people. but talking is where it is at.  Valerie probably had NO competition in the decision-making phase contrast that with the idea of being one of hundreds of resumes submitted online. Think differently about where you spend your time.  This concept would have changed the way my job search went entirely.

Help Your Personal Brands Website Visitors Stay - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Help Your Personal Brands Website Visitors Stay - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career A professional website for your personal brand is important in attracting the right leads. Its important that your design captures your visitors right away and encourages them to want to know more about what you have to offer. Icons can bring more visibility for your content and can be used in a variety of formats. These should be both appealing and responsive to mobile devices. Here are several ways to improve your website with eye-catching graphics: Make your lists stand out While a basic text description of your products and services is essential most likely these will be overlooked. Incorporating icons into your feature lists can make them instantly more engaging. Words that are too lengthy should be shortened with clear graphics that easily convey what each item represents. Showcase a new feature An announcement about a product or service is far more interesting as a stand-alone graphic that compliments your branding. Videos and demos often work well for this method, and is a good opportunity to educate your visitors on how you can benefit them. Make it interactive Audiences are drawn to games and websites that they can control. This is a great way to help them experience your brand either on a computer or smart device. Examples of this could be an interactive map of your company, a game that reveals the answers they are looking for, or a reveal on a new product that is soon to be released. Use mobile-friendly icons A responsive website is the first important element before adding graphics that load quickly and efficiently on mobile devices. Use icons to break up large blocks of text and to quickly take your visitors through to your message without a lot of guesswork. A website that encourages your personal brands visitors to stay is one that not only pays attention to the needs of its audience, but includes eye-catching images that clearly answer their questions. There are many free graphics resources available along with freelance websites who can connect you with a low-cost designer.

On Happenstance Wisdom from Dr. John Krumboltz - VocationVillage

On Happenstance Wisdom from Dr. John Krumboltz - VocationVillage Last week I had the opportunity to hear Dr. John Krumboltz speak on happenstance and careers. Dr. Krumboltz is one of the best vocational psychologists in the world and I have admired his work since grad school, so this was quite a fun event for me. This article outlines some of my favorite parts of his talk.. If you dont know what you want to do for work or you need to land a job, the single best thing you can do is to start taking actions likely to generate happenstance. Happenstance means the unplanned opportunities that occur when you get out into the world and start doing things and meeting people.Career counselors love assessments (I love them, too!) but only because they help to narrow the universe of possibilities before you start translating the theoretical into concrete action steps. It is the concrete action steps that lead to positive outcomes in the real world.Dr. Krumboltz doesnt want career counseling to get stuck at the reflection and self-introspection stage. He views career counseling as a process where a counselor helps a client to brainstorm the next constructive action that the client can take to deal with his or her concerns, then supports the client as the client undertakes those actions. The counselors role is to recognize and reinforce progress and then to help the client to undertake more action steps after that.(It occurred to me during this part of the talk that social media has made it possible to get out into the world in more ways than one. I believe digital interactions count, too)Career counselors are also useful because we can teach clients how to have conversations that build and maintain connections rather than jeopardize them. For a few people, the ability to connect comes naturally. For many other people, it is a learned skill.Every occupation has the goal of helping other people.When you really think about it, this is true, right? Just try to think of an occupation that doesnt help anyone. Some occupations are directly helping, such as those that interact with the public in a customer service or sales capacity, and some are helping indirectly, such as researching cures for disease or writing technical manuals for software products or picking up garbage to clean up streets.One way to view career choice, then, is to decide which p eople you want to help and in what ways. This is similar to the traditional career counseling question, Which problems do you want to solve?Any job is better than no job.Because we hear about some really crummy jobs, you wont hear many career counselors say this one out loud, but Dr. Krumboltz argues that even bad jobs serve two major purposes other than money: (1) Jobs bring you into contact with other people who can introduce you to better opportunities. (2) Jobs offer the opportunities to learn new skills that can lead to better employment. Dr. Krumboltz says this is true even when the job seems like a dead end and he has case studies of successful clients to prove it.Of course, jobs arent the only way to accomplish these things. Volunteer experiences, membership in professional associations, and pursuit of hobbies are other methods. The important thing is that you are doing things and with an attitude that is open to taking advantage of happenstance. He says that you shouldnt wa it for a lucky breakyou should make luck happen. This reminds me of the quote by film producer Samuel Goldwyn, The harder I work, the luckier I get. The goal of career counseling is not to make a career decision, but to keep your options open.Life is no longer about making a career decision at as young an age as possible, finding a job with a big company, and staying there until you retire 30 years later. The world now changes too quickly for that.Instead of following your dream, test steps in your dream. Instead of completing your education, never stop learning. Instead of planning carefully to avoid mistakes, take risks and use failures as stepping stones to new places.Dr. Krumboltz says that indecision is a sensible reaction to a complex and unpredictable future. He advises clients to embrace uncertainty.Dr. Krumboltzs fondness for uncertainty made me chuckle because if there is one thing most of my clients hate, it is indecision. I should have asked Dr. Krumboltz if he is a P on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator because his vocational theories seem very appealing to people who love to keep doors open and less appealing to peopl e who value focus and clarity (in the Myers-Briggs world, people who score high on J).Probably the universal truth for all personality types is that the ability to take action despite uncertainty is a needed life skill, especially during periods of life transition. Since periods of life transition are more frequent in todays labor market than in the past, uncertainty is a more common life experience than in previous decades. For those of us who like to plan, the plan helps us to tolerate uncertainty while we take action. No matter how detailed the plan, it is advantageous to remain open to happenstance so we can benefit from pursuing unpredictable opportunities as they arise.Happenstance occurred in my own career when I visited a volunteer match agency and asked them to send me somewhere to do volunteer work. They sent me to a community agency that offered free classes in employment-related topics and I became a trainer. The experience launched my career in vocational psychology. I sometimes wonder what might have happened if they had sent me to do something else!No matter what your career philosophy, your career happiness is likely to be higher if you understand and leverage happenstance. Because of this, I highly recommend Dr. Krumboltzs book, Luck is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Your Life and Career.

New status symbols of middle age

New status symbols of middle age The last time I wrote a post with this title, I wrote that women need a stay-at-home husband. And clearly, I was wrong, because later research showed that women who are breadwinners with stay-at-home husbands are headed for divorce. And so was I. So I think what Im best at is showing what we think we want, regardless of whether its actually good to want these things. 1. A traditional marriage You probably know that men report being a few inches taller than they are, and tall women report being a few inches shorter than they are. But I was really surprised to hear that in marriages where the wife outearns the husband, the couple tries to disguise it: men report earning more than they do and women report earning less than they do. By the time Gen Xers were middle-aged, most couples had decided that a traditional, home-based role worked best for them. Younger couples agree and view non-traditional marriages as a failed Gen X experiment that Millennials want nothing to do with. 2. Friends who tell you the truth Convenience friend first appears in Urban Dictionary in 2006 in the context of dorm rooms, but at this point, its clear that all parent friends are convenience friends. Children take up more and more of your time until all your friends revolve around your kids mutual activities. And friends are temporary for your moment in time: IVF, divorce, a year abroad, etc. The trophy friend is one who cares enough about you to be honest. This is no small feat because honesty is a lot of work for someone whos in your life only temporarily. Abigail Disney looks for trophy friends, which, in her case, are people who are honest with her even though that means offending someone who is really rich. Abigail joined a board just to be around a woman who had a history of calling out Abigail for being rude. 3. A side job The stay-at-home spouse can have a side job if they dont need to make money and if they can have a nanny. The side job is really about spending money in order to stay engaged in the world. The worst of these side jobs is a book. It satisfies people who miss the external validation of report cards, blue ribbons, and class rank. Having a book published is like saying, people think Im smart. And like a trophy, people see only the glistening gold, not the very low hurdle you jumped over to get the prize. The best of the side jobs is a startup funded by your spouse or your spouses friends. You can have an office for your nanny.  Or you can open a little shop, or teach as an adjunct professor. In the world of normal people, when you do stuff that doesnt make money its a hobby. But in the world of rich stay-at-home spouses, its a career. 4. A home in a smallish city Manhattan is a terrible place to raise kids. Click that link for analysis about how NYC kids give up more in cost of living than they gain in access to opportunity. So the Baby Boomers are rejecting Florida retirement in favor of big cities, while  middle-aged adults are leaving big cities in droves. People who have control over their lives can move where life is best for their family rather than for their work. Families with location-independent income can ditch stressful hubs like Silicon Valley and join the creative class as they move to smaller cities. Coveted living spaces come from firms like SHOP that meld architecture with urban design and modular construction (as exemplified by their Lego project) to create new epicenters of community living that only a smaller city can provide. 5. Early retirement The New York Times reports that Millennials are retiring in their 30s. Apparently, the holy grail of early retirement is having a side job that generates some money. Which makes me think early retirement is the same as being a stay-at-home spouse or an unemployed banker overworked or in denial or both. But the other thing the article talks about is how many of those early retirees are bloggers. The idea that blogging is a retirement gig is hilarious to me. I have never worked so many hours as I did when I was getting my blog off the ground. I did not sleep the year I grew my blog from 100 to 12,000 subscribers. The need to create content is relentless. So I guess Im in early retirement, Millennial style. And I can tell you with certainty that those of you working at a reliable, predictable job that does not stress you out have a much better gig than retirement.

7 Ways to Improve Employee Productivity Away From the Desk - CareerMetis.com

7 Ways to Improve Employee Productivity Away From the Desk Employee productivity is a very important part of any workforce. It serves as a measure of the output work that each member of staff churns out daily.In order to keep employee productivity at its highest, employers have to be aware of the fact that it isn’t just the direct working conditions that affect this statistic, but environmental factors that occur away from their desks, too.evalEven if you, yourself are not an employer or HR manager, it’s worth following these hints and tips for more productive work life, or better yet, share this with your employer It goes without saying that it’s necessary to eat in order to feel refreshed and regain energy after a long morning of monotonous work. Research has proven that healthier and more sophisticated food choices can increase employee engagement and operating margin. So why skimp on something that serves as the fuel that helps drive your employees?Work on improving the lunch offerings at the workplace cafeteria, and include brain foods like fish, nuts, bananas, rice, porridge, and other forms of protein, and try to put in a wide variety of choices.2) Incorporate standing desksMany have turned their noses up at this idea and written it off as a passing fad. But the truth is that it can increase focus and energy levels, and it has even prevented headaches and helped employees quit smoking!There’s also the most obvious benefit, which is that it improves health, meaning you’ll have healthier and happier workers. Studies have even backed the standing desk and noted a huge increase in productivity. Google and Facebook utilize standing desks â€" why not your office, too?3) Install water machines strategicallyevalWater coolers are an essential part of the workplace, as they keep employees hydrated and refreshed. They also serve as a quick escape to let out a little steam every now and then. So make sure the office water dispenser is installed within a very short distance from the working space.If you’re concer ned about employees chatting too much while they’re there, set those worries aside! Having workers socially connect with each other at a water cooler can actually lead to a 10-15% boost in productivity.4) Make sure employees get fresh airThe presence of fresh air greatly improves cognitive ability, and poor, stale office air can actually cause poor health. It’s so commonplace that it’s developed into a syndrome with a name: Sick Building Syndrome It’s been proven many times that fresh air boosts productivity and cognitive performance. Of course, it’s not always possible to redesign an entire building to promote a greener environment. So, find a compromise. Encourage five-minute meetings in an outdoor space or allow brief breaks every hour for fresh air if employees request them.eval5) Encourage lunchtime walksThe lack of physical activity performed during a long day at the desk at work isn’t good for keeping attention spans up. Employees need a change of pace to be able to refresh themselves. A study has found that those who took a walk during lunch just three times a week for a period of half an hour became more enthusiastic for work and less tense.Other research has also suggested that these walks can greatly improve creativity, lead to increases in productivityand that in the long run, those who walk frequently or more often actually preserve more gray matter in their brains. That’s a lot of benefits from something that seems so simple!6) Plan outdoor activities for team building exercisesIn previous points, it’s been iterated that social interaction, fresh air, and physical activity are great for employee productivity. So why not combine these factors into one and organize outdoor team building events?An “adventure day” like this is a great opportunity for employees to get to know each other better and work on their teamwork and communication. It also helps build trust between colleagues.These lessons learned can be applied to their wor k, encouraging them to unite behind a common goal, improve communication, and solve conflicts among themselves. Ultimately, this leads to a more productive working environment.7) Encourage exercise in generalThe benefits of exercise know no bounds, and you want your workforce to be healthy. Exercise has unmeasured plus sides when it comes to productivity and work performance. It keeps people alert and focused, and as mentioned previously, even walks can increase energy levels, improve brain function, and even spark creativity.evalThat’s because physical exercise stimulates the production of mitochondria within cells, leading to a more energized brain. On top of that, exercise has been proven to be one of the best ways to make people happy, and happiness leads to more productivity!And of course, more exercise means healthier staff, which means more work gets done in the long run. So, try encouraging exercise among your employees in any way that you can. Why not try workplace sponso red charity runs?ConclusionIn short, treat your employees well, and you’ll see a boost in activity.Remember that investments into your staff’s comfort and happiness will pay you back in high returns in the long run.

Book review Crossings - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Crossings - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This book by Richard A. Heckler, subtitled A New Psychology of the Unexpected, is about change in a big way. Its about those events that have the powert to totally transform your life. The events can be big or small, trivial or life-threatening, mystical or practical, but they fundamentally alter the people to whom they happen. The strongest feature of the book is quite simply actual stories of this happening. Told partially in the words of the people involved and partially by the author, these stories are downright gripping. From Karl, a former drug dealer turned minister, to Rebecca who discovers her strengths and leadership abilities on board a small boat close to sinking in a ferocious storm. The author breaks down the journey into five parts: The slumber: This is the trance of erveryday life, before any change occurs. The call: Some event intrudes on the slumber, and the adventure begins unexpectedly. Incubation: You assimilate what has happened. Your attitude to many things may have changed, and this takes som adjustment. Search for meaning: What happened? Why? Why to me? What should I do about it? In the face os such change, we want to know what it means. The leap: This is when you act accordingly. This is when you make the decision that may turn your life around completely. An integral part of this journey that I found very interesting is Isolation. It seems that a period of being alone and separated from your normal life is very important, and is either a part of the process or will happen as a result of it. An analogue example to this is found in various tribes who, as part of their manhood rituals, send the boys away to let them return as men. Another interesting subject that pops up in the book is openness. Actually experiencing these events, and subsequently acting on it, requires openness. As you will know if youre a regular reader of this blog, I like openness :o) The idea of change on such a scale in human lives is interesting, and this book offers many interesting stories of it. The theory behind it is not very prevalent in the book, and I would suspect that very little science as yet exists in this area. If youd like to explore life-change on a smaller more day-to-day scale, I recommend the book Change by Paul Watzlawick. It examines when and why people change, and when they resist change. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Boost Your Resume With Grant Writing Skills

Boost Your Resume With Grant Writing SkillsIf you want to use the grant writing skills you have developed in your career to boost your resume, it's best to get your hands on a grant writing software package. Such software provides you with many advantages, including faster and easier application review and an automated back-end system that guarantee that all documents are completed on time. This is especially important for applicants who can't afford to leave the application review to their own devices.Of course, grant writers can rely on the tools and methods developed by grant writers. To make sure you have everything you need, get hold of a grant writing software package. By using these programs, you can write, edit, format, and format-proof your grant proposal and letters. You can also prepare reports for grant administration and help decide on how to spend the money.When writing grants, it's important to go beyond the grant proposal itself. Your resume should highlight your skil ls, accomplishments, and leadership in areas such as business development, planning, and business and finance. But when it comes to a grant proposal, the focus should be on the core and essence of your skills - the idea behind the proposal. This is the kind of grant writing skills you need to help boost your resume.It's the grant writers' job to think out of the box, to come up with something that's novel and creative. As long as the reader is interested in the idea behind the proposal, they'll love what you have to say. That's why it's important to have a clear and memorable proposal to draw attention to what you can do for them.A grant proposal should include useful and compelling arguments and data. Because these pitches are used in the approval process, it's essential that you make sure that they are 'buyable' by the funding agency. That means that your proposals should focus on the information the funding agency needs to determine whether the idea and the reasoning behind it ar e sound. After all, you'll want them to look at your ideas and decide if they're worth supporting.Now it's time to get back to work! Apply for all of the free grants you can find. This will not only help you get a few applications under your belt, but will also allow you to obtain as many free grants as possible, which will definitely improve your chances of being approved. However, don't get overwhelmed. Keep in mind that the more free grants you apply for, the more likely you are to be granted some of them.The next step is to use your grant writing skills to create a grant proposal. Start by describing the idea and the reasoning behind it, and then add your experiences and accomplishments. Include links to your grant management system, website, or other support services. If you have developed any new business ventures, make sure that you include the basic information about them on your application.This is the part where a grant writer can really shine. Make sure you are prepared a nd fully prepared by getting a grant writing software package.