Grab Yous some Popped Corn!

Grab Yous some Popped Corn! YeeHaw! Its finally here the carnival is in town and there are all kinds of performances! I have developed a relationship with most of the people listed below, and all of them are larger than life to me Im so flattered to have not only participation in this carnival but real, heartfelt writing. Sorry to say but some of them wont be here until tomorrow, as they didnt post on their blog, rather just sent me an e-mail with a response. But dont fret, it will be worth it to read what Heather Hamilton and Seth Godin and Peter Clayton have to say about this question: Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggresive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches. And so here are the other people that are participating in no particular order! Im afraid it is going to take a while to read but this is some REALLY REALLY good stuff, from the heart and from personal experience. Here goes This was posted at 7:25am MST. Scroll down and see if there are any updates (You can tell I have new updates each time I have a red/bold sentence) as they come in. Also, leave comments on your favorites, thoughts, etc.! Phil Windley is a professor at BYU, was the CTO of Utah, author of a geek book and writes for a ZDNet blog as well as InfoWorld. I was flattered hat he digressed from his normal topic to address this question read Phils entry here. Justin Driscoll is the author of 7 Things I wish I Knew Before I Graduated (I cant wait to get his and review it). Is very in touch with the university crowd and does regular presentations as a part of his normal day job read Justins entry here. Carl Chapman is The Executive Restaurant Recruiter, and a great blogger. His story hit home with me and has some great lessons read Carls entry here. Liz Handlin is VP of a professional services firm and owns Ultimate Resumes she is very qualified in this area and has some great advice read Lizs entry here. Joe Neitham is a Sr. IT Recruiter in Singapore. Very interesting, has a cool blog with neat content read Joes entry here. Benton Crane is a .. at FamlyLearn, a company that seems to have a way cool culture. His perspective is quite different than most of the others on this page read Bentons entry here. John Reinke has a very interesting blog read on all kinds of stuff and has a number of posts on the problems (big grin) of JibberJobber. These posts really get us hopping over here. Anyway, his response is as critical as usual and very good read Johns entry here. Scot Herrick is one of my favorite reads because he has a job, and blogs on what its like ?? Actually, he touches on lots of different things (last week he was on a buy your own domain kick, which is a big part of personal branding) read Scots entry here. George Blomgren is a good on-line buddy and an expert in job search and employment matters. George is a marketing manager for a national system of job board and has developed two different blogs for job seekers and employers read Georges entry here. Carolynn Duncan gained some blog fame a few months back when she started a blog about why [her target company] should hire Carolynn Duncan and you saw reference to this all over the Internet. It worked, and I eventually was able to meet with her very clever, methodical, etc. Right now she is the COO of 42CO, who is presenting their new blogging software in two days in Silicon Valley by invite. Congrats Carolynn and team! read Carolynns entry here. Barbara Safani is a well respected executive coach and resume expert who knows a lot about employment issues she is very well known in her circle, youll have to read more about her (just click her name) read Barbaras entry here. Scott Ingram makes me jealous he owns a great domain name (NetworkingAustin.com), lives in one of the coolest cities in one of the coolest states, and has a blog that doesnt allow me to comment on and impart my wisdom Ive gotten to know Scott a little and have found him to be as nice as he is cool. As a regular speaker on networking and facilitator of business networking events in Austin, I was pleased to hear he would be contributing read Scotts entry here. Dan Johnson is no ordinary job seeker he started his own blog with some friends and blogs on job search things. This is a great exercise as it forces you to think about the process, and Ive found his writings to be valuable read his entry here. Thom Singer is pretty much responsible for this carnival thing I participated in his a couple of months ago and he asked if I wanted to host this month. He has a book, a quiz on networking, speaks on networking and is otherwise very qualified in this arena. I was reading his post nodding the entire time. If you are interested in hosting the next carnival (has to do with networking) let Thom know! read Thoms entry here. Posted at 8am MST these were actually submitted via the BlogCarnival.com website sorry I didnt get you guys in at the same time! Andrew Flusche (aka Legal Andrew) has a great read on his blog and helps me understand the law student preparing for the job market he presents Business Cards for (Law) Students. Pamela Slim has an excellent blog a daily must-read. Her entry is called How do you introduce yourself? Jack Yoest presents Job Search? PASS This Test posted at Reasoned Audacity. Yvonne LaRose has been in recruiting and blogging about it for quite some time her entry is called People Like Me Because of My Calming Nature updated at 12:15pm MST Daniel Sweet owns FRACAT and has experience as a tech recruiter and apparently advising all his friends and family (for free!) about the job search. This isnt a blog entry but he submitted this page, which I think has some great info read Dans input here. Mike Murray has a thoughtful blog that I found a week ago. We both like Ferrazzis book, and reading through his blog reminds me of my last months You Get It Winner of the month! read Mikes entry here. Updated/added at 3:10pm MST I have some friends at Spherion who were kind enough to pass this along to the bloggers I figure anyone that is involved in helping place 375,000 people a year is pretty qualified to weigh in on this carnival! This post is actually 2-part, by two different authors, and I LOVE the very very last two sentences read the whole thing here. Grab Yous some Popped Corn! YeeHaw! Its finally here the carnival is in town and there are all kinds of performances! I have developed a relationship with most of the people listed below, and all of them are larger than life to me Im so flattered to have not only participation in this carnival but real, heartfelt writing. Sorry to say but some of them wont be here until tomorrow, as they didnt post on their blog, rather just sent me an e-mail with a response. But dont fret, it will be worth it to read what Heather Hamilton and Seth Godin and Peter Clayton have to say about this question: Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggresive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches. And so here are the other people that are participating in no particular order! Im afraid it is going to take a while to read but this is some REALLY REALLY good stuff, from the heart and from personal experience. Here goes This was posted at 7:25am MST. Scroll down and see if there are any updates (You can tell I have new updates each time I have a red/bold sentence) as they come in. Also, leave comments on your favorites, thoughts, etc.! Phil Windley is a professor at BYU, was the CTO of Utah, author of a geek book and writes for a ZDNet blog as well as InfoWorld. I was flattered hat he digressed from his normal topic to address this question read Phils entry here. Justin Driscoll is the author of 7 Things I wish I Knew Before I Graduated (I cant wait to get his and review it). Is very in touch with the university crowd and does regular presentations as a part of his normal day job read Justins entry here. Carl Chapman is The Executive Restaurant Recruiter, and a great blogger. His story hit home with me and has some great lessons read Carls entry here. Liz Handlin is VP of a professional services firm and owns Ultimate Resumes she is very qualified in this area and has some great advice read Lizs entry here. Joe Neitham is a Sr. IT Recruiter in Singapore. Very interesting, has a cool blog with neat content read Joes entry here. Benton Crane is a .. at FamlyLearn, a company that seems to have a way cool culture. His perspective is quite different than most of the others on this page read Bentons entry here. John Reinke has a very interesting blog read on all kinds of stuff and has a number of posts on the problems (big grin) of JibberJobber. These posts really get us hopping over here. Anyway, his response is as critical as usual and very good read Johns entry here. Scot Herrick is one of my favorite reads because he has a job, and blogs on what its like ?? Actually, he touches on lots of different things (last week he was on a buy your own domain kick, which is a big part of personal branding) read Scots entry here. George Blomgren is a good on-line buddy and an expert in job search and employment matters. George is a marketing manager for a national system of job board and has developed two different blogs for job seekers and employers read Georges entry here. Carolynn Duncan gained some blog fame a few months back when she started a blog about why [her target company] should hire Carolynn Duncan and you saw reference to this all over the Internet. It worked, and I eventually was able to meet with her very clever, methodical, etc. Right now she is the COO of 42CO, who is presenting their new blogging software in two days in Silicon Valley by invite. Congrats Carolynn and team! read Carolynns entry here. Barbara Safani is a well respected executive coach and resume expert who knows a lot about employment issues she is very well known in her circle, youll have to read more about her (just click her name) read Barbaras entry here. Scott Ingram makes me jealous he owns a great domain name (NetworkingAustin.com), lives in one of the coolest cities in one of the coolest states, and has a blog that doesnt allow me to comment on and impart my wisdom Ive gotten to know Scott a little and have found him to be as nice as he is cool. As a regular speaker on networking and facilitator of business networking events in Austin, I was pleased to hear he would be contributing read Scotts entry here. Dan Johnson is no ordinary job seeker he started his own blog with some friends and blogs on job search things. This is a great exercise as it forces you to think about the process, and Ive found his writings to be valuable read his entry here. Thom Singer is pretty much responsible for this carnival thing I participated in his a couple of months ago and he asked if I wanted to host this month. He has a book, a quiz on networking, speaks on networking and is otherwise very qualified in this arena. I was reading his post nodding the entire time. If you are interested in hosting the next carnival (has to do with networking) let Thom know! read Thoms entry here. Posted at 8am MST these were actually submitted via the BlogCarnival.com website sorry I didnt get you guys in at the same time! Andrew Flusche (aka Legal Andrew) has a great read on his blog and helps me understand the law student preparing for the job market he presents Business Cards for (Law) Students. Pamela Slim has an excellent blog a daily must-read. Her entry is called How do you introduce yourself? Jack Yoest presents Job Search? PASS This Test posted at Reasoned Audacity. Yvonne LaRose has been in recruiting and blogging about it for quite some time her entry is called People Like Me Because of My Calming Nature updated at 12:15pm MST Daniel Sweet owns FRACAT and has experience as a tech recruiter and apparently advising all his friends and family (for free!) about the job search. This isnt a blog entry but he submitted this page, which I think has some great info read Dans input here. Mike Murray has a thoughtful blog that I found a week ago. We both like Ferrazzis book, and reading through his blog reminds me of my last months You Get It Winner of the month! read Mikes entry here. Updated/added at 3:10pm MST I have some friends at Spherion who were kind enough to pass this along to the bloggers I figure anyone that is involved in helping place 375,000 people a year is pretty qualified to weigh in on this carnival! This post is actually 2-part, by two different authors, and I LOVE the very very last two sentences read the whole thing here. Grab Yous some Popped Corn! YeeHaw! Its finally here the carnival is in town and there are all kinds of performances! I have developed a relationship with most of the people listed below, and all of them are larger than life to me Im so flattered to have not only participation in this carnival but real, heartfelt writing. Sorry to say but some of them wont be here until tomorrow, as they didnt post on their blog, rather just sent me an e-mail with a response. But dont fret, it will be worth it to read what Heather Hamilton and Seth Godin and Peter Clayton have to say about this question: Yikes! You just lost your job! You’ve been so busy at *work* that you don’t feel your network is as strong as you would like it to be! What are you going to do with (and to) your network in the next 6 weeks as you begin an aggresive job search campaign? And, outside of your network, what job search tactics will you employ? Or your best networking tips related to job searches. And so here are the other people that are participating in no particular order! Im afraid it is going to take a while to read but this is some REALLY REALLY good stuff, from the heart and from personal experience. Here goes This was posted at 7:25am MST. Scroll down and see if there are any updates (You can tell I have new updates each time I have a red/bold sentence) as they come in. Also, leave comments on your favorites, thoughts, etc.! Phil Windley is a professor at BYU, was the CTO of Utah, author of a geek book and writes for a ZDNet blog as well as InfoWorld. I was flattered hat he digressed from his normal topic to address this question read Phils entry here. Justin Driscoll is the author of 7 Things I wish I Knew Before I Graduated (I cant wait to get his and review it). Is very in touch with the university crowd and does regular presentations as a part of his normal day job read Justins entry here. Carl Chapman is The Executive Restaurant Recruiter, and a great blogger. His story hit home with me and has some great lessons read Carls entry here. Liz Handlin is VP of a professional services firm and owns Ultimate Resumes she is very qualified in this area and has some great advice read Lizs entry here. Joe Neitham is a Sr. IT Recruiter in Singapore. Very interesting, has a cool blog with neat content read Joes entry here. Benton Crane is a .. at FamlyLearn, a company that seems to have a way cool culture. His perspective is quite different than most of the others on this page read Bentons entry here. John Reinke has a very interesting blog read on all kinds of stuff and has a number of posts on the problems (big grin) of JibberJobber. These posts really get us hopping over here. Anyway, his response is as critical as usual and very good read Johns entry here. Scot Herrick is one of my favorite reads because he has a job, and blogs on what its like ?? Actually, he touches on lots of different things (last week he was on a buy your own domain kick, which is a big part of personal branding) read Scots entry here. George Blomgren is a good on-line buddy and an expert in job search and employment matters. George is a marketing manager for a national system of job board and has developed two different blogs for job seekers and employers read Georges entry here. Carolynn Duncan gained some blog fame a few months back when she started a blog about why [her target company] should hire Carolynn Duncan and you saw reference to this all over the Internet. It worked, and I eventually was able to meet with her very clever, methodical, etc. Right now she is the COO of 42CO, who is presenting their new blogging software in two days in Silicon Valley by invite. Congrats Carolynn and team! read Carolynns entry here. Barbara Safani is a well respected executive coach and resume expert who knows a lot about employment issues she is very well known in her circle, youll have to read more about her (just click her name) read Barbaras entry here. Scott Ingram makes me jealous he owns a great domain name (NetworkingAustin.com), lives in one of the coolest cities in one of the coolest states, and has a blog that doesnt allow me to comment on and impart my wisdom Ive gotten to know Scott a little and have found him to be as nice as he is cool. As a regular speaker on networking and facilitator of business networking events in Austin, I was pleased to hear he would be contributing read Scotts entry here. Dan Johnson is no ordinary job seeker he started his own blog with some friends and blogs on job search things. This is a great exercise as it forces you to think about the process, and Ive found his writings to be valuable read his entry here. Thom Singer is pretty much responsible for this carnival thing I participated in his a couple of months ago and he asked if I wanted to host this month. He has a book, a quiz on networking, speaks on networking and is otherwise very qualified in this arena. I was reading his post nodding the entire time. If you are interested in hosting the next carnival (has to do with networking) let Thom know! read Thoms entry here. Posted at 8am MST these were actually submitted via the BlogCarnival.com website sorry I didnt get you guys in at the same time! Andrew Flusche (aka Legal Andrew) has a great read on his blog and helps me understand the law student preparing for the job market he presents Business Cards for (Law) Students. Pamela Slim has an excellent blog a daily must-read. Her entry is called How do you introduce yourself? Jack Yoest presents Job Search? PASS This Test posted at Reasoned Audacity. Yvonne LaRose has been in recruiting and blogging about it for quite some time her entry is called People Like Me Because of My Calming Nature updated at 12:15pm MST Daniel Sweet owns FRACAT and has experience as a tech recruiter and apparently advising all his friends and family (for free!) about the job search. This isnt a blog entry but he submitted this page, which I think has some great info read Dans input here. Mike Murray has a thoughtful blog that I found a week ago. We both like Ferrazzis book, and reading through his blog reminds me of my last months You Get It Winner of the month! read Mikes entry here. Updated/added at 3:10pm MST I have some friends at Spherion who were kind enough to pass this along to the bloggers I figure anyone that is involved in helping place 375,000 people a year is pretty qualified to weigh in on this carnival! This post is actually 2-part, by two different authors, and I LOVE the very very last two sentences read the whole thing here.

Tips To Find A Good College Graduate Resume Writing Service

Tips To Find A Good College Graduate Resume Writing ServiceOne of the best ways to find a good college graduate resume writing service is to ask around. If you are looking for advice from your friends and family members, you can get them to help you in choosing a writing service that specializes in writing resumes for college students. Here are some tips to help you out.Make sure to consider how long it will take to finish the job. You should consider the amount of time it will take for the resume writer to produce the resume for you. You should also consider the quality of the services they offer. The more experience they have, the better quality service they provide.Don't just hire the first company you meet with because the potential employers will know who they are. You should use a search engine and find their names. Contact them and ask them for a meeting or an interview. Tell them that you are a recent college graduate and would like to get a resume written to showcase your qu alifications.The company should also be legitimate. This is one of the most important things you need to consider before hiring a writing service. You should check whether the company is a member of any professional organization and to what extent they are certified.Company ethics and policies must be documented clearly in writing. The main purpose of the project should be outlined clearly in writing. You should also see the samples of previous projects the company has completed.If possible, the resume writing service should give you sample resumes for you to choose from. These samples should include all the relevant information such as academic grades, honors awards, internships, awards, degrees, professional affiliations, and work experiences. These sample resumes should also include the requirements for the particular resume.In addition, you should also see whether the resume writing service is a member of any professional organization. If it is not, this will indicate that you w ill have to do this work yourself. The resume writing service must also be a member of the American Academy of Public Opinion Research.Of course, the good thing about these online services is that they will not cost you any money. The only cost you have to pay is the price of the services you will have to spend on other tasks, such as your resume writing. As you can see, finding a good college graduate resume writing service is relatively easy.

Agency Recruiters 3 Powerful Questions That Can Set You Apart From Your Competitors

Agency Recruiters 3 Powerful Questions That Can Set You Apart From Your Competitors Whether you like (or believe) it or not, most Hiring/HR Managers don’t see a lot of difference between the various contingency recruitment agencies they deal with. Sure, they may engage with you in a spirit of cooperation â€" but that is mostly down to either their supplier-management skills or their desperation in trying to fill the role they’ve just given you access to. That’s because nearly all recruitment agencies say and do the same things. Generally, the only factors that set recruiters apart are either: Their personality Their track record in filling jobs or submitting high quality candidates to that particular company Now, both of those are good enough platforms from which to build a more sustainable client/supplier relationship, however, what percentage of all the companies you ever speak to do those conditions exist? For the majority, that number is probably less than 20%. That leaves around 80% of all your hiring company interactions dealing with people who’ve rarely, if ever, spoken to you before. And those are some of the toughest conversations you’ll have â€" once they’ve given you a role to try and fill. What many of the better recruiters then do is: Clarify some of the details on the job spec Ask what else they’ve done to fill the job and how many agencies are involved Pre-close for some interview slots Then they join the race to find possible candidates as quickly as possible. Sometimes this client/recruiter conversation is the result of a cold-call where the phrase “we have great candidates” has featured prominently, or “we are specialist in this field”. And that was when the “these guys pretty much all sound the same” thought kicks-in to the clients brain. OK, so what can we do to start changing the direction of that thought pattern? Here are 3 questions that if asked (with the appropriate explanations and follow-up questions) will start to differentiate you from the other agencies. They may also help you fill more of these jobs you’re being given by these indifferent hiring companies: Q1: Who have you previously met, worked with or interviewed, that you think might be the right kind of person for this job? Q2: What specific companies have previously successful candidates and current staff worked for, before joining you? Q3: Would you have any objections to me speaking to members of your team to get referrals to people they may know? The first question sets the tone for the differentiation you’re trying to establish. Regardless of the answer, the person on the other end of the phone will start to take you more seriously because you’re already demonstrating your ability to think laterally and your desire to help solve their problem. The second question acts as an information gatherer (assuming you don’t already know the answer) and continues to condition the Hiring Manager into thinking they may finally be talking to the right recruiter. The third is the jackpot question â€" especially if they agree to the request, because once you’re able to talk to existing employees on the recommendation of the Hiring Manager (I don’t think may HR Managers will agree to this), not only do you have access to high quality candidate referrals, you also have access to high quality information about the job and the company. But more than that, what you’re really doing is leveraging the power of referrals, recommendations and other people’s networks. Most Hiring Managers don’t do this themselves either because they’re too busy, don’t like doing recruitment or simply hadn’t thought of it before. Whatever their reason, most will find the logic of doing it inescapable and many will be happy for someone else to both do it, and follow up on it. What asking these questions also does is connect with the single most powerful and cost-effective single recruitment tool there is â€" The  Employee Referral Scheme. Some companies have them (around 30% if my memory is correct) and of that 30%, most don’t work. They don’t work because the companies don’t ask for them â€" and when I say that, I mean nobody in the company approaches another employee face-to-face and asks them who they might know. Employee referrals are incredibly powerful and many companies don’t leverage them properly, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to. You’d need to demonstrate your professionalism before many companies would give you official access to their employees â€" but if and when they do, they are clearly saying that they trust you and have more belief in you than their other agency suppliers. Try it. It works. Author: Mitch Sullivan    Recruitment Polemicist. Watches the Arsenal. Drives a Saab with tan leather seats. Hates bullshit and cats. Follow him on Twitter @MitchSullivan.

Things to Consider When Getting a Mortgage for the First Time -

Things to Consider When Getting a Mortgage for the First Time - There’s no doubt about it; it has become increasingly difficult to secure a first-time mortgage in the UK. The average house price soared to £229,958 in August, for example, with values increasing by 3.7% thanks primarily to a restricted supply of new properties hitting the market. With the market showcasing such prohibitive conditions, it’s little wonder that the average age of first-time buyers continues to rise in the UK.   And conditions are similar in the U.S.    In order to help you overcome these challenges, we’ve listed some key considerations that are crucial when looking to buy a home for the first time:  Understand the Relationship between Mortgages and Interest Rates  While we tend to apply for mortgages through independent lenders such as Andrews, the conditions of borrowing are often dictated by the macroeconomic climate. Not only does the state of the economic climate impact on lending criteria and conditions, for example, but the base interest rate will also directly influence the monthly repayments required. In the case of variable mortgage products, your repayments will rise and fall with the base interest rate, shifting the goalposts with regards to value and affordability. Its important that you recognise this when first applying for a mortgage, while also aiming to invest in a property that is well within your predetermined budget. Take Control of your Credit Score  While mortgages may represent a secured form of lending, you’ll need to have your credit report assessed before being approved for financing. So before applying, it’s crucial that you take the proactive approach of downloading your credit report and reviewing it in detail, paying particular attention to any outstanding debts, administration errors and your bottom line score. In some instances, you may need to settle outstanding issues before making an application, whether this involves the repayment of creditors or reducing your total liability. It’s also important that your credit record showcases positive credit transactions, so it may be worth applying for a low-limit credit card and using this to complete manageable payments on a recurring basis. Don’t Forget About the Deposit  Saving for a deposit can be tough, especially with banks not passing the base rate increases directly to their customers. This is unfortunate, as saving a 15% to 20% deposit or down payment for your house can significantly reduce the amount that you need to borrow and ease your financial burden going forward. By reducing the value of your mortgage, you can minimise interest rates and the overall cost of borrowing.   Similarly, you can improve your chances of being approved for a mortgage, as it’s possible to request less capital to complete the purchase.

Several Excellent Job Resume Writing Services in Alpharetta Georgia

Several Excellent Job Resume Writing Services in Alpharetta GeorgiaResume writing services can help to write a winning resume that will put you on the fast track to a rewarding and successful career. While it is true that your best bet for success in the job market is a well written resume, sometimes you just don't have time to devote to creating one on your own.With the proper amount of help you can turn your headhunting efforts into something productive and worthwhile. Here are some of the resume writing services in Alpharetta Georgia that you can contact to get started.David Slade Alta Headhunter is a professional recruitment agency specializing in the area of recruiting executives and management professionals to fill important executive positions at Fortune 500 corporations. As a top tier Atlanta placement firm, they can offer you help with your career search by helping you draft an excellent resume to get you on the fast track to success. Since they are so experienced with large corporations, they have the experience and the skills necessary to present your accomplishments as well as your skills.Nevadim is an impressive job placement and executive recruiting company that was founded by David Slade and John Smoltz. For many years they have helped hundreds of people find jobs and careers in the corporate world. Nevadim has offices in Atlanta, Cambridge, Forsyth, Hendersonville, Iona, Leominster, Macon, Lithonia, Natchez, and Athens.Career Builder is a larger company with a focus on career development and employee development. The company can help you develop your career plan and guide you towards finding your perfect career match. They have offices in Canton, Atlanta, Lenox, Marietta, and Tifton.As one of the largest network marketing companies in the nation, Nashville Headhunter has offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Des Moines, Dallas, Indianapolis, Lisle, Miami, Nashville, and Tampa. With a team of qualified and experienced recruiters on staff, Nashville Headhu nter can help you find the right career match to match your skills and interests.Erin Brosson has many years of experience helping professional women come up with strong resumes and cover letters. She also can create a professional looking curriculum vitae that will help your resume stand out from the rest.There are many other types of resume writing services in Alpharetta Georgia that you can contact if you are looking for help in writing a successful resume or just looking for more information about your career. So contact one of these companies today and find out how they can help you in your job search.

Think Before You Speak

Think Before You Speak Sometimes we take advice literally. Ive heard career experts recommend to job seekers that they should line up networking and informational meetings. Yep, I recommend this too. However, what we arent saying is to call someone and ask Can I have an informational meeting with you? or Can I network with you? These two questions are akin to Do you have a job for me?.All these questions are focused on YOUR needs and wants and desires, not the person you are talking to. When you are asking someoneto engage ina conversation you have to be other focused. You have to THINK before you speak. Even in these times, when there are thousands of people out there asking for these meetings, there are great reasons why hiring managers and company leaders will want to talk with you. Butyou have to give them a good reason to. Before you ever pick up the phone or approach someone, do your research.You have to knowWHY you want to speak with them. Are you interested in their personal work history/career path? Has their company been in the news for some accomplishment? Are they someone who is innovative or a thought leader? Is their industry one you have identified as being a target/transition goal? Does this person know a lot of other people? If you dont know why you want to meet them, what will you talk about? Next, think about the questions you would ask this person. Here is a link to great open-ended questions to get you started. Now you are ready to ask for a meeting. But what are you going to ask and how? Use a script at first if youll be calling on the phone. Itll keep you focused and on track. Here are some reminders: Be genuine Speak with conviction Dont talk too much, listen Dontassume Im busy to mean no. Be positive There are thousands of ways to ask for a meeting. Here are just some suggestions: Hi Sue, this is Hannah. I was just reading about XYZ company in the local newspaper and wanted to congratulate you on your new contract. I am impressed by your companys initiatives. I was hoping you could help me by answering some questions I have about how you utilized lean techniques to make this happen. Additionally, I have a contact at Q Company that might be interested in your product. Could we possibly meet briefly over coffee to discuss how you did this? Hi Sue, my name is Hannah. I am a training specialist. I wanted to talk with you about how training in the not for profit world is different from training in the for profit world. Do you have some time one morning we might be able to meet for coffee? Hi Sue. You dont know me, but my name is Hannah. I have been watching your company for a while now and would love to talk with you about how social media is impacting what you are doing. I am using Twitter and LinkedIn and Facebook recreationally and have found them to really help promote some events Im involved with. When might you have time for a brief meeting? OK, so what you are seeing is that they arent 100% other focused but these lead-ins do make very specific reference to why I want to meet with them. AND I had to do research to make sure that I knew what to ask for. I had to know that XYZ was using lean. I had to know training is different in the for profit world. I had to know the company was using social media. I learned about what these companies were doing by reading the local papers, trade magazines, industry newsletters and talking with others. And, oh, by the way, I have written about this beforeInformational interviews are networking. If you have successfully used other introductions or lead-ins to get meetings, please, share them in the comment section below!

Stress at Work Affects in More Ways than you PerceiveÂ

Stress at Work Affects in More Ways than you Perceive   Did you know that almost half of the workforce feels overworked, and about 38% suffers from excessive pressure at work? Do you know what causes stress at work for you? It can be as casual as settling into a new workplace, which mostly gets resolved with the passage of time to as toxic as bullying and harassment. It could be high workload, unreasonable expectation, excessive work hours, or poor work environment that makes space for blame culture. By understanding what triggers stress at work, you would be able to address them better and stay productive at the workplace without falling prey to them. There are many ways in which you lower the stress that is caused due to the aforementioned reasons besides various other stressors at a workplace. At times, it is as easy as discussing your problems with a senior team member and strategizing to resolve the issue from its root. Whereas, on occasions, you might have to confront the situation head-on by standing up for yourself against a bully or communicating to your boss about being overloaded with additional responsibilities. Not taking action towards resolving an issue at work that is causing stress may have hazardous repercussions for your physical and mental health.  Click here  to check out this infographic from Armstrong Appointments for tips on staying stress-free at work.