Mark Renn

The Effective Approach for Getting Your Position

Despite the negative news regularly promoted regarding unemployment today, people are getting hired in this economy.  They are getting hired not based on what they have done but rather based on what they will accomplish for the company.   People are hired today based on the problem they will solve for the company.

Recognizing that people are being hired based on what they will do explains why it is important to follow a systematic plan to get the right position.  You can put together a reverse chronological resume, apply to open positions and send it to friends and business acquaintances but the results will not be stellar.   Taking this approach is the most common for most people yet is the least effective.

It is much more effective to know what position you want and which the right companies to work for are before beginning a marketing campaign.   This will get you the right position and make your job search more efficient.  Once you have determined what you want to do you need to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and from there put together your marketing plan.

When implementing your marketing campaign every thing from your resume to your dialogue to your social networks need to move you towards this position.   This also includes having a personalized website that addresses the accomplishments you have had in you career.  It is important to recognize that it should be a website not a web resume.  The difference between the two is the website states you and your profession whereas a web resume states the job you are looking for.

You can definitely improve your job search results and career satisfaction by implementing a strong marketing plan.  The key is to know what you will do and who you will do it for and then establish and implement the plan.

Mark Renn

CEO

GCM Lincolnshire/Arbora

Over the past decade, the Internet has changed the way many of us live out daily lives. Now even businesses are finding a new way to make new hires and save time and money in the process. Get ready for your close-up because the next job you interview for may be via Skype.

Global Career Management CEO, Mark Renn says airfare, hotel costs and gas prices can drive up a company budget when searching for job candidates.

“By the time you look at it, it is easily over a thousand dollars by the time you look at hotel, airfare and the time you are spending with the staff.”

These days, businesses are opting for Skype interviews so save time and money. Thanks to the invention of the web cam you could be interviewing for your dream job from the comfort of your home computer.

Without the live interaction between employer and potential employee, does Skype really offer a good alternative to the real thing?

“Yes. Companies have become very happy with it,” says Renn. “With the new technology they actually are able to get a good feel of the candidate. We are actually training people to do a better job in that platform.”

There is a bit of a learning curve when preparing for a Skype interview and you need to consider a few things before you give it a shot. Here are a few tips to follow:

1. Be sure to dress in your best clothes, as you would in a face-to-face interview. 2. Make sure your lighting is properly put together. Avoid color washout by setting up near a window. 3. Practice. Make sure your equipment is working properly and ready to go. 4. Check to see how you are angled with the camera so the interviewer has a good view of you. 5. Be sure to clean up your interview space. Your future employer isn’t just looking at you; they can see and hear what’s around you. 6. Get rid of all audible distractions. Keep the kids and pets away from your webcam. 7. Use an Ethernet connection. A wireless connection can be unreliable. 8. Be prepared to troubleshoot.

Renn says if something goes wrong during your interview, it’s important to remember not to panic.

“The last thing you want to do is come across quite frankly hysterical. Or like you are totally not in control they are going to use this moment to see how well you handle yourself under pressure.”

Just because you are using your computer to communicate, you still want to be mindful of eye contact. When you are talking to your interviewer, look at the camera, not the screen. That’s how you establish “eye contact.”

If you have your own technology company and want to get some TV air time or you have a great technology related story idea you would like to see in the Internet Café email me @ Nina.Sparano@kwgn.com and I’ll get your story on the air.

September 11 changed a number of things for American, and for that matter the world. The focus of the news media has shifted drastically from quiet whispers of an upcoming recession to focusing intensely on the impact that day may have on the world’s economy. It is common to see a great deal of concern over today’s economic conditions in the newspaper, television, Internet or any other form of media.  Americans are bombarded with news of stock market woes, downsizing and profit loss of corporations and the like. Through all these changes, it is important to recognize that this is not the first time Americans have had to endure a recession and that we all have choices to make during this period of economic change. The unemployment rate throughout the nation and in Colorado is coasting around 5 percent. As simple math dictates, 95% percent of people are still working, which means even in this time of turmoil there are still countless new opportunities.

What happened on the web, or “dot-com” industry, is that in most cases these fledgling companies did not stick to business fundamentals. A company cannot cash-flow itself into a profit, cannot forecast the future and cannot continue growth without having one factor in place at all times, that being profitability.

With that recognized, it should be easy to realize there are still a tremendous amount of opportunities available to Americans, which needs to be our focus. Too many people are tormented with the thought that they will not be able maintain their jobs or recover their careers as a result of that failing “dot-com”, or company of any industry. Basically this time, as always, we have choices. In good times as well as bad, we have choices. Choices we as Americans must make to command what occurs in our own lives. Just as in any situation where life’s important choices are presented, this is not a time to wait and see what the future holds. This is a time to move forward.

Companies are still begging for talent. We as individuals must focus on the talents we possess and how to present those talents to current or prospective employers. No different than any other period in one’s existence, you must learn to balance every aspect of your life. So many people are unhappy with their careers because they have not established balance. They let economics, industry, their company, friends or other factors take control of their futures.

What we need, is to look at what it is we can do to improve our futures. Opportunities are there, just present yourself for the opportunity. A common misconception is that if an individual is lucky, everything has gone right because luck that has always fallen into place for them. The truth is, this person is only fortunate because they have put in place what was necessary to make sure that luck was on their side.

People go through history in different states of being. Some will be extremely successful, most will have survived and some will not. The difference is only based on one thing, and that is how you balance this period of your life. If you are currently looking for employment, be aggressive about it and use the proper procedures to put your career in place. If you are unhappy with your career or are looking for upward mobility, change it. If you are happy with your career, focus on keeping it that way.

Look at what you need to do, where you need to go and what career path is right for you. Start moving in that direction and by all means, be aggressive. Be the best you can be and move forward.

Today, people are too concerned with what the media presents to them, allowing those factors to take control of their lives. This is not to say that we shouldn’t have concerns about what is going on in the world, but should also emphasize focus on what we do have control over. In our careers as well as lives we must take control, be aggressive and always move forward. Maximize your self in these tough times and you will truly reap the rewards. There are a tremendous amount of opportunities out there, only you can find them if you choose to.

There are five pieces of our lives that we need to constantly balance. Those being, our families, friends, spirituality, health and career. Keep the balance and watch yourself move forward and accomplish your life’s objectives. There is only one individual that can have such an impact on your life, and that is you.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Early in the 1999 NFL season, Mike Shanahan, head coach of the then World Champion, Denver Broncos had a problem. One of his veteran defensive players allegedly made a comment that after only 4 games, the team was finished for the season. After a poor start, going 0 and 4, this player supposedly implied that the team would be lucky to win 3 games that season.

This statement and the conversations that occurred with Mike Shanahan afterwards prompts this article. Mike Shanahan hit the nail on the head about what is so vitally important for every one of us to understand on a daily basis. He said that he would like to know which player made that statement so he could fire him on the spot. The last thing the Broncos need is someone with that attitude infecting the rest of his team.

Quite frankly, negativity in the workplace is an issue that faces corporations every day – the attitude of the team members within that organization. The unfortunate thing with many companies is that they believe that they need to be responsible for maintaining happy, healthy, productive employees. There is a lot of truth in that, but there is one part of that puzzle for which they have no responsibility and no control over. That is the attitude of you, the individual employee. Your attitude is totally your responsibility. Your attitude is what I want to talk about in this article today.

It is unfortunate, yet it happens so often, where the individual employee lays all the responsibility on the company for creating a positive work environment. That’s not to say that things don’t ever go wrong at a company or there may be situations where it is in everyone’s best interest for the employee not to be a part of that organization. The point I am trying to make and that I think is important for people to recognize is that only you, the employee, have total control of your attitude. Outside circumstances can affect you but they do not control you. You are in control of the way you approach your day and your job responsibilities. Bad things do happen to people. Unpleasant things happen to people. The bottom line is that these things that happen to you are not as important as how you handle them. Getting a new boss that you don’t like or get along with, or having the organization acquired, or being given extra responsibilities without compensation, or whatever the situations are in the workplace that in your opinion are unfair or not what you would consider ideal, are your issues to deal with.

The best way to deal with these issues is for you to approach them in a positive manner. As I always tell my children, life is not fair, get over it. And the point to be made here is that if you continue to have a positive outlook, you will improve the situation that seems unpleasant. Because developing that positive attitude does not necessarily mean that you will continue to maintain yourself in that situation, but that you will start looking at a more realistic, proactive and beneficial approach to finding the solutions and or best steps to resolve the problem. These best steps can be found by perhaps leaving the organization or developing an improved situation for yourself within the organization. Either one could be a very plausible solution.

One thing I always recommend is that if you are planning to stay with the company for awhile, support the organization until you leave. And when you leave, shut the door, speak only in a positive fashion about the organization (if you speak about it at all), and move forward with your life.

Throughout my career I have watched a number of people succeed and I have watched a number of people, quite frankly, fail. The one common thread that always prevails for those that succeed is their positive attitude and approach to their work, their life, their employer, and their family – every aspect of their life. They live with a proactive, realistic, positive attitude.

Not only did this attitude problem with an anonymous player for the Denver Broncos catch my interest, but I was also interested in a recent article that was in a local publication about saboteurs in the workplace. It struck me about how it paralleled so perfectly with Coach Shanahan’s reaction to the alleged statement by one of his veteran defensive lineman. Basically, the saboteurs, as the article pointed out are those without a positive attitude or approach to the workplace and/or their situations and, quite frankly, to life in general. We find most of these individuals have a negative outlook towards their work but it carries into their personal lives as well. But the common thread that was stated by that article and by Mike Shanahan is that the saboteurs, if allowed, can and will destroy the success of an organization. The thing I also found intriguing is that most saboteurs don’t recognize what they are truly doing. We are dealt with challenges and/or concerns on a daily basis. We have a choice every day of either becoming a part of the solution or a part of those challenges. I recommend that in every aspect we look at ourselves as being part of the solution. Because solutions are what make employees and companies successful and helps them progress into the future in a realistic and positive fashion.

An Organized Approach to Career Transitioning

Recent studies show that over 47% of baby boomers are dissatisfied with their careers today. That is why nearly 75% of the people I talk to when presenting a seminar on career management are looking for career transitions. The most common statement I hear from people is that they realize they will have to take a lesser position in order to accomplish a career transition. This unfortunate myth can lead to actual failure in accomplishing a career transition.

There are a number of reasons people fail when attempting a career transition. One is that suddenly they become “overqualified” – the prospective employer recognizes that they have been paid more in the past and that they will consider themselves to be worth more than the position pays and probably won’t be a long-term employee for that position.

Two – they set in place a situation where they create dissatisfaction automatically and become unhappy with the position because it does not give them the rewards they anticipated and need to have in order to feel true career fulfillment. This could include anything from money and benefits all the way to the duties and responsibilities of the position. This also creates a “no win situation”. They set in motion the anticipation that there will be fast and rapid growth after they accept the position and it doesn’t go as rapidly as expected which in turn creates further disappointment.

Career transitioning should be viewed as an adventure that needs to be planned and implemented properly. The common pitfall for people in career transition is: they don’t know how to go about it, and they choose to let the employer do it.

In other words instead of really planning and determining the appropriate position to go after, they approach companies to determine what the company can offer them in terms of a career transition. This typically creates low pay and a great amount of career dissatisfaction.

Another commonality is that people undersell themselves. Consistently, I hear people say, “since I am expecting to do a career transition, I will obviously take less money.” My question is, why would they take less money? They, quite frankly, have great skills that have warranted their compensation for today’s market. Why can’t those skills transfer easily to a position in the compensation range to which they are accustomed?

Another is that people don’t know the market. They don’t know what opportunities are available to which they can effectively transfer. A quick example is when educators are looking at transferring out of the academic arena, they think the one area they should go into is corporate training, which is another word for “educator.” They would be more effective assessing their skill sets and really looking at the phenomenal opportunities that are available in the business arena. Perhaps they could use technical skills or they could transition into a business that fits into the subject area they taught as an educator.

Another thing that will typically happen to people during a career transition is their inability to develop realistic expectations in several different areas:

• One – they don’t know how long it should take to accomplish an effective career transition.
• Two – they don’t know where they should go to accomplish an effective career transition and they create frustrations in not understanding the marketplace.
• Three – the have unrealistic expectations of their true value.
• Four – they do not know the true responsibilities of the positions they are considering because they haven’t researched them thoroughly.

Many people don’t have a job search or career transition process to follow. This is a very common problem for everyone in the job market and particularly for those who are contemplating a career transition. Because it is a new endeavor, following a specified process during a career transition is the most effective way to accomplish the objective. They need to know how to contact potential employers properly, what type of employment documents to create (resume, cover letter, etc.), when to present those documents, when to contact those people, who to contact. These are just some small examples of parts of an effective process that are not followed properly.

Having an understandable process in place before beginning a career transition will provide the ability to develop realistic expectations and, quite frankly, produce a much more favorable outcome. Not only in career satisfaction but also in compensation.

Another problem may be that their priorities are not correctly aligned. One prevalent reason people look into career transitioning is that something has gone wrong in the environment of their past work experience. Instead of looking at what they want to do and where they want to do it, they start looking for a home, if you will, which will be comfortable for them. One of the first things they look for is the right corporate culture. The corporate culture is important, however, it is not the most important priority on the list. The first is to ensure that the responsibilities of the position align with their skills and that they have a passion for the work. Other areas will be easier to put into place if they have the necessary skills and passion for the position.

Another common pitfall is some people don’t know the hiring process. They don’t understand that it is truly a process of elimination, not a process of selection. Thus, they look at ways to be selected instead of looking at ways to avoid elimination.

Career transitioning is common. As a matter of fact today there will be at least seven career or company changes in a lifetime. Another interesting statistic is that in 1975 the average timeframe professionals could perform their jobs without improving their skill sets was 15 years. Today it is 3 years. This makes sense considering today’s rapid change in technology. Career transitioning is necessary to keep up with the ever-changing workplace.

Approaching a career transition with an effective process will enhance one’s career throughout his/her lifetime. Falling into the traps above will only result in career digression, no progression. It is in the jobseeker’s best interest to continue to build his/her career because it is truly one’s greatest asset.