Dust Off Your Dream

Dust Off Your Dream I had a dream that one day Id be fabulously successful. I was either going to own my own business, or I was going to be the CEO of a really big (like, Fortune 10) company.   Both would provide dramatically different lifestyles, and the latter would be really challenging to have a family life also (I assumed). I figured the own my own business route was just about impossible, at least to acheive the crazy things I thought I wanted in life.   So I did the right stuff to be a CEO of a company business degree, MBA, solid first job, etc. Things went well until that day.   You know the day Im talking about for me it was the week of Friday the 13th, in January of 2006. I started my job search, which didnt go well. I also started this crazy little website called JibberJobber, which was getting favorable reviews from career experts. Eventually it was obvious that no one wanted to hire me, which made that dream fade quickly (not a fun realization).   But people were really interested in JibberJobber and the dream I thought I could never have, that of owning my own business, and perhaps even building a better mousetrap, started to become a reality. I never imagined that dream could become a reality. But it did, and Ive lived the dream for almost three years. I bet you have a dream.   A crazy dream.   A dream you put off to become an accountant, perhaps?   (or maybe your dream is to become an accountant!) This evolving economy provides a great opportunity to dust off your old dream, stop thinking of all of the reasons why it wont work, and start figuring out how to make it work.   If you dont have the guts to do it, read this post. I give you permission. Today some dude in Minneapolis should put all my LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVDs in a box and send them to my office.   This starts the countdown of selling them at full price, plus SH.   If you want the discount, order it now. Dust Off Your Dream I had a dream that one day Id be fabulously successful. I was either going to own my own business, or I was going to be the CEO of a really big (like, Fortune 10) company.   Both would provide dramatically different lifestyles, and the latter would be really challenging to have a family life also (I assumed). I figured the own my own business route was just about impossible, at least to acheive the crazy things I thought I wanted in life.   So I did the right stuff to be a CEO of a company business degree, MBA, solid first job, etc. Things went well until that day.   You know the day Im talking about for me it was the week of Friday the 13th, in January of 2006. I started my job search, which didnt go well. I also started this crazy little website called JibberJobber, which was getting favorable reviews from career experts. Eventually it was obvious that no one wanted to hire me, which made that dream fade quickly (not a fun realization).   But people were really interested in JibberJobber and the dream I thought I could never have, that of owning my own business, and perhaps even building a better mousetrap, started to become a reality. I never imagined that dream could become a reality. But it did, and Ive lived the dream for almost three years. I bet you have a dream.   A crazy dream.   A dream you put off to become an accountant, perhaps?   (or maybe your dream is to become an accountant!) This evolving economy provides a great opportunity to dust off your old dream, stop thinking of all of the reasons why it wont work, and start figuring out how to make it work.   If you dont have the guts to do it, read this post. I give you permission. Today some dude in Minneapolis should put all my LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVDs in a box and send them to my office.   This starts the countdown of selling them at full price, plus SH.   If you want the discount, order it now. Dust Off Your Dream I had a dream that one day Id be fabulously successful. I was either going to own my own business, or I was going to be the CEO of a really big (like, Fortune 10) company.   Both would provide dramatically different lifestyles, and the latter would be really challenging to have a family life also (I assumed). I figured the own my own business route was just about impossible, at least to acheive the crazy things I thought I wanted in life.   So I did the right stuff to be a CEO of a company business degree, MBA, solid first job, etc. Things went well until that day.   You know the day Im talking about for me it was the week of Friday the 13th, in January of 2006. I started my job search, which didnt go well. I also started this crazy little website called JibberJobber, which was getting favorable reviews from career experts. Eventually it was obvious that no one wanted to hire me, which made that dream fade quickly (not a fun realization).   But people were really interested in JibberJobber and the dream I thought I could never have, that of owning my own business, and perhaps even building a better mousetrap, started to become a reality. I never imagined that dream could become a reality. But it did, and Ive lived the dream for almost three years. I bet you have a dream.   A crazy dream.   A dream you put off to become an accountant, perhaps?   (or maybe your dream is to become an accountant!) This evolving economy provides a great opportunity to dust off your old dream, stop thinking of all of the reasons why it wont work, and start figuring out how to make it work.   If you dont have the guts to do it, read this post. I give you permission. Today some dude in Minneapolis should put all my LinkedIn for Job Seekers DVDs in a box and send them to my office.   This starts the countdown of selling them at full price, plus SH.   If you want the discount, order it now.

3 Ways Women Can Open Their Own Doors to Entrepreneurial Success

3 Ways Women Can Open Their Own Doors to Entrepreneurial Success Are you concerned about glass ceilings, gender discrimination, and corporate boardrooms that are frequently a men-only playground?   Here are three ways women can open their own doors to entrepreneurial success. 1) Math Science There is no better investment in oneself than education. For the eighth year in a row, the majority of 2016 U.S. doctoral degrees were awarded to women who outnumbered their male counterparts by 35%, but male graduate students still vastly outnumber women in the study of engineering and computer scienceâ€"a gender gap considered by some to be a “national crisis”â€"and one that might curtail the hopes of many women in the entrepreneurial workforce… but it shouldnt! Here’s why. 74 percent of girls express interest in math and science and STEM-based learning is more targeted for girls than ever before. Programs like the New York Academy of Sciences 1000 Girls â€" 1000 Futures, The Scientista Foundation and Million Women Mentors are just a few notable efforts making strides. It’s also important to note that women who want to educate themselves don’t have to acquire copious amounts of debt in order to do so. Udemy offers 55,000 online courses including Introduction to Web Development: HTML, The Essential Guide to Entrepreneurship, or Statistics for Business Analyticsâ€"all of which cost around $15. Harvard offers free materials on iTunes U, where you can listen to Michael Sandel give his famous Justice lecturesâ€"or learn about the intersection of science and cooking and musicâ€"all free of charge. The National Council for Women and Information Technology predicts that there will be around 1.4 million computer specialist job openings in the U.S. by 2020, and these jobs will be filled by women with STEM backgrounds. Scientific and mathematical education is a key factor for women who wish to beat the odds in a variety of male-dominated fields, particularly those that depend on information technology.  2) Exercise Voice According to at least one source, men do a whopping 75% of the talking during an average corporate meeting. That leaves very little space for women to make their ideas known. In her book, Taking the Stage: How Women Can Speak Up, Stand Out, and Succeed, Judith Humphrey offers some tactile advice to women on improving their communication skills. According to Humphrey, a woman must develop a strong, clear voice and learn how to take advantage of “center stage” opportunities, from making presentations to informally pitching ideas to colleagues in the coffee room. Women have to speak up, and have to take back their share of corporate meeting communications. Sometimes just knowing that the disparity between male and female communication exists, is helpful to a woman to give her the confidence and impetus to speak up. As women, we collectively gain voice from the sacrifices of women like Anita Hill, an African-American law professor who went before an all-male panel to testify that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Or Betty Dukes, who decided to take on Walmart for gender discrimination; or Rev. Addie Wyatt, a womens rights activist who was one of the original founders of the Coalition of Labor Union Women. The list of women that have risked everything to speak up goes on and on. Let’s make sure that there voices and their   fight is not for nothing. These women bravely exercised their voice; and subsequently, have helped change the social and professional expectations of women in America. But if we don’t keep exercising our rights and our voices, we can lose the advantage these brave women have helped us 3) Financial Literacy Financial literacy should be a priority for any woman entering the workplace, and especially those hoping to enter the competitive entrepreneurial environment. Women are up against some tough stats. They’re still making ~.80 ¢ for every dollar that their male counterparts earnâ€"more than 30 years after the Wall Street Journal first identified the phenomenon of a “glass ceiling. Last year, venture capitalists invested just $1.46 billion in women-led companies, while male-led companies garnered $58.2 billion in borrowed support. These stats all despite the fact the women-led companies perform 3 times better than the SP 500. Accounting, economics, and banking have methodologies and lexicons all their ownâ€"and to open the doors to investment, growth, and balanced budgetsâ€"entrepreneurial women must challenge themselves to never stop learning. The odds are stacked against women, so they must be that much more well spoken and well versed in financials than their male counterparts. They need to prove to potential investors, and strategic partners that they are well positioned for success by expertly knowing their financials and strategic financial startegy. Read up on Financial Solutions to Help Grow Your Small Business and Funding Your Small Business â€" Smart Tips for Mompreneurs. And whenever you need motivation, just follow the money! Hegemony and injustice can be as inspirational as they are overwhelming… it’s all a matter of entrepreneurial perspective. This guest post was authored by Sabrina Parsons Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software, developer of the best-selling business management software, LivePlan. Palo Alto Software develops software and tools specifically targeted for entrepreneurs and small-business owners.   Sabrina assumed the CEO role in May 2007 and is responsible for Palo Altos business planning, fiscal and strategic goals and all of the companys traditional marketing. She is a staunch supporter of entrepreneurs, and supports entrepreneurial organizations. She is on the board of the Princeton Entrepreneurs’ Network (www.princetonen.org).   Sabrina has chaired the Willamette Angel Conference twice. (http://www.willametteconference.com/). She is on the Board of Directors for RAIN, the Willamette Valley Regional Accelerator Innovation Network. She is a graduate of Princeton University.

How to Prepare for Behavioral Based Interviewing

How to Prepare for Behavioral Based Interviewing What is a behavioral interview? Developed three decades ago by industrial psychologists, behavioral (also known as competency based) interviews have rapidly grown in popularity and most organizations now use them to some extent. Unlike your traditional interviewing techniques, which are based around popping open questions to the candidate, behavioral interviews focus on past performance and behaviors. The behavioral interview will give you the chance to showcase your competencies such as skills, abilities and knowledge through specific examples from your experience. The interviewer doesn’t want to hear what you think you can do in the future; they want to know what you have done and how you did it. It’s all about how your past performance being the guiding light for your future performance. Why companies love them In a traditional interview, it’s easy for the candidate to let their imagination run wild and say exactly what the interviewer wants to hear: “Work late nights and some weekends? No problemo. Increase my travel to 100%? Sure thing.” In the behavioral interview, you will have to back your gung-ho work ethic with real-life examples, detailing how you handled specific situations. You will most likely be asked to specifics and quantify your answer as much as possible, allowing the interviewer to check your facts with referees, should it get to that stage. The bottom line is that the behavioral interview is not about potential scenarios. It’s about what you have done and how you did it, making it very tough to fabulate any answers in the interview. Reasons to master the behavioral interview Anyone that prepares for a behavioral interview will engage in introspection and as a result you will be better prepared for behavioral as well as for old school interviews. It’s easy to dazzle junior interviewers with behavioral answers, given that they are impressive and backed up by your facts. You will develop a few good stories that you can use in other contexts, such as networking events and sales meetings. The best companies to work for tend to make use of behavioral interviewing, so if you want to work there you best get practicing now. How to prepare for a behavioral interview Before you start preparing you answers, you have to determine what competencies you think the employer is looking for. Do your research, who else is doing this job? What does the job specification say? Speak to your recruiter, HR contacts, people in your network. Any company is likely to look for a combination of the following skills: communication, creativity, attention to detail, management material, action orientation, loyalty, ability to make/save money, team player, enthusiasm and flexibility. Identify and rank these based on the job you are interviewing for. Now come up with specific examples where you have demonstrated these competencies. For ideas on what questions and answers to work on, see the list of typical behavioral interview questions. Whatever the question and answer may be, there is a useful tool for your delivery. The best way to tell someone about a specific event and how it went is to employ the STAR model: Give the interviewer the Situation or Task that you had to resolve. Then describe the Action you took and what Result or outcome you achieved. Be as specific as possible, add any relevant components to your answer such as the people, environment, scale and scope. Be open about the outcome, whether it was a complete success or a result that you could learn from in order to do things better next time. You now have to practice, practice, practice and turn your real-life competencies into interesting stories. More on effective story telling in interviews here. You call to action When we are happy and working away at our jobs, we don’t really take notice of our achievements. In order to be prepared for a behavioral interview long before you even consider changing jobs, you will want to take notes and track your progress on a daily basis. The more you write and think about it, the more specific you are going to be in an interview, much to the delight of the impressed interviewer. Have you been in a behavioral interview and did you behave well enough to land the job?! RELATED: How to Behave in Behavioral Interviews Image: Shutterstock

4 Things to Consider Before Buying Your Own Home

4 Things to Consider Before Buying Your Own Home Finding a house is not an easy challenge. It might be bugging you, especially for first-time buyers to either just choose the first house that falls within your budget or look for more expensive but better investments. Buying your own home is one of the biggest purchase of your life and you must leave no room for mistakes, or at least as little as possible. But you don’t need to get too stressed about it. Your first priority is to determine your long-term goals and how home ownership fits in with those plans. You could choose whether it will be rent to own type or choose something that’s more tangible and ideal such as choosing mortgage payments. Having your own home could be a sign of your long coveted independence and a time for you to enjoy being the landlord of your own house. Try looking at the bigger picture, it will surely point you to the right direction. If you’re considering to buy a house in the future, this list can help you make the right decision: Type of Home You Need There are several types of residential properties out there and you need to consider which best fits you â€" whether a single-family home, a condo unit, townhouse, or a multi-family house with more than 1 unit. Check your needs and preferences. Every option has their own pros and cons, so it’s crucial to pick a type that will suit you and fit in your plan in the long-term. Features in Your Ideal Home Since this is the one of the biggest purchase in your life, you deserve to have your needs and wants as closely as possible and the choice is entirely up to you. Check if the neighborhood is good, if it is near the business district or downtown? After checking the macro’s, look inside the house, check for smaller details aside from bedrooms and bathrooms like appliances, furniture, heater, the overall layout, or even the windows and plumbing as these should be checked out too. Price of the Property Affordability is the most common issue faced by home-buyers. Mistakes are commonly made because most of homeowners buy the first house that they see fit in their budget plans. You might want to check the house’s total cost, and not just the monthly payments. Also consider the down payment, the taxes you’ll pay by the type of neighborhood, the insurance you’ll have to apply for, and of course the maintenance, renovations and improvement you will be making to your house. Sometimes it would be wiser to invest in a much more valuable house. In such case, a flexible variable rate home loan can help you buy a larger house with a much smaller monthly payments. Help and Advice If you’re in dire need or fear that you’ll encounter pitfalls in choosing the right home, consult with a real estate agent. These professionals will help you locate homes that will meet your needs within your price range. They will assist you with finding, up to completing the paper works needed for your newly bought house, including making offers and getting a good loan. Their expertise will help you choose the best house for you. Remember, choosing a new home lies entirely within your hands. Educate yourself about the whole process beforehand â€" it will become less stressful and easier for you! Image Source;  Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

How to Write a How My Job Skills Resumes

How to Write a How My Job Skills ResumesWriting a resume is really easy to do when you have the basics of the resume written. But if you are looking for how to write how my job skills resume, you have to learn more about job skills. Here are some things that you should consider in writing a resume and how to write a how my job skills resume.Job skills refers to the skills or talents that can be used by the person in order to do his job effectively. A resume must include these skills. It is possible to start off with writing a resume, but if you don't include this information, it will appear like you have no skills at all.It is important to add details about your career at every step of the way. You should always remember that a resume should only include information that will help people see your skills clearly. For example, if you are looking for a job in a medical field, your resume must include details about how you came to know about the particular field. It will be difficult for a potential employer to trust your claims about your previous experiences if you don't provide details of how you came to know about the job. Moreover, they might not be able to assess whether you have the skills required for the job.In writing a how my job skills resume, you must also take note of the details of the specific job. This is because the employer will be more likely to look at your credentials if they know you have a particular skill. If you want to have an impressive how my job skills resume, you should include details of the job you are applying for. If you are looking for how to write how my job skills resume, you should remember that you can't forget to include this information.However, don't stop here. Be careful not to over-describe the job. You should only list information that is relevant to the job. You can include other details here if they would help to highlight your skills and capabilities.Besides, when writing a how my job skills resume, you must also be mindful of grammar and spelling. If the applicant is a beginner, it would be better to teach him the basics of writing a resume. You can even have your own sample. This will help the applicant to learn the basics of writing a resume. This is an advantage of having a sample because it will help the applicant to overcome his fears when he writes his resume.When writing a how my job skills resume, there are a few other tips that you can include. These tips will help you write an effective resume and it will show that you are confident in writing. This will increase your chances of getting hired in the future.You must be clear about what you want to say about yourself when writing a resume. You can even decide on the format that you would like to use. You should always ensure that you have gone through all the steps of writing a resume before you submit it. After all, it is your chance to show that you are capable of doing a job well and you should take it seriously.

How To Avoid A Typical (Boring) Conversation

How To Avoid A Typical (Boring) Conversation How To Avoid A Typical (Boring) Conversation You’ve probably heard that networking is the best way to find a job. One reason is that people like to hire people they know, which expands to someone referred by someone they know. Unfortunately, many people are uncomfortable starting a conversation with a stranger. That makes it difficult to meet people at a networking event. Why? Unless you’re one of the first to arrive, many networking events are bustling from the moment you walk in the door. There are several groups chatting. Even worse are parties of two who seem in deep conversation. One way to engage with a group is to stand close by and wait for an opportunity to join. Great connectors are always looking for people lurking and will invite them in to the conversation. A more direct approach is to simply ask “Can I join you?” I’ve never had anyone or any group say no. An easier way is to approach someone standing alone. If they’re like most of us, they’re just waiting there hoping someone will come over and talk to them. In this situation, the key is to avoid the typical conversation. One that goes something like this. Jill/Joe: Hi, I’m _______ Smith. Amy/Andy: Hi Jill, I’m ________ Sage. Jill/Joe: Nice to meet you. Amy/Andy: Nice to meet you too. Jill/Joe: Have you been to _________before? Amy/Andy: Yes. Jill/Joe: When were you here? Amy/Andy: A couple of months ago. Jill/Joe: Are you a member? Amy/Andy: Yes, I just joined. Jill/Joe: Great! What do you do? Amy/Andy: I’m a senior vice president in marketing for XYZ company. Jill/Joe: That’s nice. Amy/Andy: What do you do? Jill/Joe: I’m a lawyer. Amy/Andy: That must be interesting. Jill/Joe: Yes. The two of them stand there awkwardly for a few minutes. Amy/Andy: Well it was nice to meet you. Jill/Joe: Nice to meet you too. Amy/Andy: OK, bye. Jill/Joe: Bye. Two or three conversations like this will convince you that going to networking events is a big waste of your time. But you would be wrong. The secret is going from basics like “what do you do?” to actually having a conversation. Before attending your next event â€" be it your association’s monthly meeting, an office party or your partner’s office party â€" do the following: Research the speaker â€" everyone has a website today, pick up some ideas there. Spend 30 minutes online â€" scan the news and find a few noncontroversial stories. Research the organization â€" again, even the smallest organizations have a website. Try to ask open-ended questions like “why did you choose your career/field/job?” Watch a news channel, like CNN or MSNBC, for 30 minutes â€" but avoid talking politics The more often you practice your networking skills, the more comfortable you’ll be meeting new people. With the start of holiday season just weeks away you’ll have plenty of networking opportunities. Check the local chapter of your industry, seasonal gatherings are a great place to mingle. Make the most of your partner’s holiday party where you’ll meet people outside of your immediate circle. Bring a few business cards to every holiday gathering. You never know who you may meet. Always remember, most people at networking events are as nervous as you are. The person you see standing alone in the corner is fervently hoping someone will come over and say hi. Focusing on how you can help them will take your mind off you. To learn the Secret Ingredient to Networking Success click here.

Focus, Direction, and Movement!

Focus, Direction, and Movement! Sure you can do just about anything.   The problem is, employers arent hiring for that just about anything job right now?   I havent seen that title come up in search recently have you? And to quote Dr. Phil, Hows that working for you?   Are you getting some good leads and contacts for that just about anything job?   Ive written about why this doesnt work here. Really, what are you best at doing? Specifically, what problems are you super at solving? It isnt until to can put words around this that youll be able to find your focus.   Without focus, job search can be an ominous trek or one that doesnt move at all. This is a major change in thinking for us all.   In the past, when the United States was riding high, some employers were thinking we need good old work ethic.   They were riding the wave of success and growth.   We made a lot of stuff over here and we needed people to help make that happen, at all levels.   Today, we dont make as much here.     Jobs and companies are outsourced to countries where labor is less expensive.   Computers and automated systems have eliminated the need for many jobs.   The jobs that remain require more. If you havent read The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman, that might be helpful to further understand these major shifts. While you are reading, you might as well read Drive by Daniel Pink because this also provides insight and background to the changing landscape of todays companies.   Drive looks at the the real science behind what motivates humans. This can make you mad or even irate, but that wont change the situation.   The key to your success moving forward is to seek to become the best you can be AND be able to talk about it. Yes, you did your job, you were there every day and worked hard.   It is going to take more than that to win an employers vote of confidence.   Accepting this fact and developing accomplishment stories that represent your true talents are part of the secret to winning the employers heart.