Category: Careers

How Your Values Help You Reach Your Goals

Do you  find yourself wondering about where you’re headed next? Do you wonder if the goals and values you set out to achieve are really all that important to you now? Are you thinking that it’s time to reevaluate?

Well, you’re probably right. Just as it’s important to go to your filing system periodically and throw out all the old papers that you’ve been holding onto, it’s equally important to take a little time to evaluate where you think you’re headed and throw out the ideas that no longer work.

Most of us think we know what we want, and what’s of most importance to us. We think we know how to get there, or at least what direction to head. But, unless we’ve taken the time to examine “under the hood”, then it’s difficult to understand what really drives us, let alone what causes us to make the choices that we’ve made over time.

Goals are important. But in truth, goals are simply a way to make us feel better, to convince us that we’ve done or are doing something of value. Goals are a result, a final vision of what we think we want.

Achieving any goal provides us with the end result, but not always with the experience that we have been seeking. Have you ever noticed how people who achieve their goals don’t always feel satisfaction? They are often more excited and engaged while they are pursing their goal, not after they’ve achieved it. And so they set and run after another goal.

What most of us are seeking when we set goals, is a particular experience that the goal itself represents to us. And usually, that experience could be expressed in many different ways, it doesn’t necessarily have to be through any one particular goal or outcome that we’ve set.

This is one of the main reasons it’s so important to discover your true values. Understanding your core values will give you a clearer idea of what it is you are trying to achieve. And once you understand that, you are in a better position to make choices that fulfill your values and bring you the satisfaction of the experience you were seeking in the first place.

New Years is traditionally a time to assess where you’ve been and set new goals for what you want to accomplish in the coming year.  When you take the time to understand what motivates you, you’ll not only set better goals that are in alignment with those values, you’ll have a better chance of staying on track with the goals you’ve set.

From now through New Years, I’ve put my 3-part Strategic Goal Planning book on sale through a special link at http://KatieDarden.com. Take advantage of this limited time offer today.

Holiday Help

Just a quick note to remind you that as Christmas approaches, some of the people closest to you may be feeling overwhelmed. Certainly there is the shopping and cooking and cleaning and wrapping, etc., etc.

But for many of us, Christmas can also be a time when we are acutely aware of having lost a loved one.

If you or someone you care about is having a difficult time, you can help them in the same way my friend Lynette was able to help herself finally heal the grief of having lost her baby daughter so many years ago. 

Go here to find out how to Heal Your Grief…

11 Proven Methods to Help You Land a Job

Today’s job market is not for the faint of heart. Unemployment seems stuck at just over 9%, so whether you’re laid off and looking or simply desperate to get out of a dead end job, you’ve got a lot of competition. And if you’ve just emailed your résumé in response to yet another Craigslist or Monster.com job posting, take a deep breath and back away from the keyboard.

“If you’re using the right techniques, you will almost certainly find a job,” says Kate Wendleton, president of The Five O’Clock Club (www.fiveoclockclub.com), one of the nation’s premier career coaching and outplacement networks. “But online searches and job posts are a very, very small part of the equation.”

If you’re looking to take that next step, read on for a few suggestions pulled from Five O’Clock Club methodology:

Don’t jump in without a plan. Most job hunters feel like they have to find a new job…yesterday. And while, admittedly, sooner is better than later, Five O’Clock methodology stresses the importance of first taking the time to do the necessary planning. Job hunters must go through an assessment in which they answer important questions like: What kind of job do you want? Where do you want to work? Where do you see yourself in five, ten, fifteen years? The answers to these questions help job seekers realize exactly what they want and ultimately lead to quicker searches.

It’s not about what you can do. It’s about what you really, truly want to do. Many traditional outplacement services analyze the personalities of their job hunters, they analyze their skills, and then they let them start searching. Wendleton says these services are doing their clients a great disservice.

Set targets—and keep them in your sights. You have to set targets for what you want to do and where you want to work. Basically, this means narrowing down the industries you want to work in, the positions you want to hold, the geographic areas you’re willing to move to, and so forth. Five O’Clock Club members set targets as part of their assessments. From then on, they frequently hear the statement, “If your targets are wrong, your search is wrong.”

Remember, there’s no DIY in job search. The big fad for many outplacement services these days is to do everything online. They use webinars and other e-learning opportunities. They can offer long packages to their clients because they don’t require space or labor. Unfortunately, they leave job hunters without the one-on-one coaching that is necessary to keep them positive and on track.

Don’t fall prey to the “a coach is a coach is a coach” mentality. All career coaches are not created equal, says Wendleton. A coach may have ten or twenty years of career coaching experience, but if he or she is not using a proven methodology, all those years of experience might be a detriment, not an asset.

“Card” yourself. Every Five O’Clock Clubber has a special 3×5 index card that holds the personalized keys to their job hunting success. It helps them narrow down and stay focused on their most important “talking points.” You can create one for yourself, too, says Wendleton. First, your card will include the short pitch about yourself to use when you meet a new contact, in interviews, or at other events or meetings. Your card should also include three or four of your personal accomplishments in addition to the one question you are most afraid an interviewer is going to ask, along with your answer.

Shape your own interview. The unfortunate reality is that managers who are hiring don’t always ask the right questions. When this is the case, as the job hunter, you have to figure out a way to get your strengths and accomplishments into the interview. This is when it is a great time to recall all of the accomplishments you have on your index card and use them to keep the interview moving forward.

Network with the big dogs. One of the problems with the way people network is that they just talk to everyone they know. Unfortunately, everyone they know is in the same field or the same age group as them. More often than not, they are peers. They might know about jobs at their companies, but they might not have the authority to recommend you to the hiring manager. Or they might be able to put you only in positions that represent a lateral move and won’t help you advance your career.

If an interviewer doesn’t “bite,” don’t toss him back in the water. In other words, don’t just discard someone who tells you his company has no openings. If a person is at the right level and at the right company, he is just as valuable to you as someone with an opening. That’s because you can ask him this important question: If you were hiring right now, would you hire someone like me?

Don’t be afraid to be a “pest.” Follow up, follow up, and follow up again. After you interview with a company or meet with a senior-level contact, that isn’t the end of the road. You need to spend just as much time developing that relationship after you’ve met with her as you did prior to the meeting.

If you get an offer, don’t assume you’re home free. Aim to have three concurrent offers in the works at any one time. These offers don’t have to be jobs that you actually want to take, but having them in the works prevents you from slowing your search when you think you are about to get hired. It also gives you a psychological edge—the fact is, if you have only one thing in the works, the interviewer can tell.

 

Original Article Here

Healing Help For the Holidays

The holidays – especially the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas – can be delightful or devastating.

It's a wonderful time for us to share memories and time together with those we love. For some people, though, it's a reminder of painful memories associated with the loss of loved ones.

My very dear friend, Lynette, lost her beautiful two year old daughter, Brennan, sixteen years ago today. Over the years she has gone through several levels of healing, including creating an "angel day" to celebrate her daughter's brief time on earth.

After all that time she thought she had healed most of the grief, but every year she still felt the sorrow during the holidays.

This year was different, though – a couple of months ago she realized she wanted to help not only herself, but everyone else she knew who was having the same issues.

She decided to seek out and interview grief and healing specialists. And in the process, she discovered how much more complete her own healing became as a result of putting the program together.

All of us have lost someone important to us. For me it was my mother 20 years ago. She was the glue that kept my family together. We were never quite the same without her. It took me 3 or 4 years before I stopped thinking of her every single
day in some way.  And it took me about 18 months before I released the grief. I still think of her often, but now it's simply with love, not with pain.

I'm one of the lucky ones. some people (like my friend Lynette) go years without healing fully.

Well, now there's help.

Lynette's program includes 10 mp3 interviews along with worksheets to help you take notes as you process your grief and heal your spirit.  It also includes a community where you can ask questions, share your insights, and find like-minded people to help you heal.

And she's kept it very affordable – it's only $29.95 for all 10 interviews, plus interviews for another mind-body series of experts.

And remember, this isn't just for the person who is suffering from loss – it's also for the one who is supporting that person. Lynette's series covers things like:

  •  The differences between how men and women grieve… and how hose differences make healing difficult.
  •  How to support a child who is grieving and doesn’t know how to ask for help.
  •  The foods that support healing and the ones you must avoid at all cost.
  •  Techniques to manage your stress so that physical healing can take place.

…and so much more.

If this is a difficult time of year for you, or for someone you love, this may be the best Christmas gift you ever give (or receive).

You can get this series by going to Lynette's website at  HealingFromGriefAndLoss.com

By the way, this is NOT an affiliate link – it's a direct link to the site. I do not receive any money, and in fact, I've already purchased the program at full price.

Do yourself a favor and pick up this great value today.

Warmly,

Katie

P.S.  There's also something to be said for understanding the grieving process before it becomes an actual issue for you. If you are connected in life, then at some point you are likely to lose someone you love or will need to support someone who has suffered that loss. These interviews can help you be more effective when the time comes.