Whether your plans include watching the match or something else all together, I hope you have a great weekend.

Now, here’s what happened this week at Career Attraction:

My “Stand Out” Job Search Training starts on Monday. If you haven’t seen what it’s all about, watch this short video (about 10 minutes). I built it around exactly what you told me you wanted. I’ll be walking you through how to build stronger networks that drive opportunities to you, more efficient social media systems that work for you and, of course, how to Stand Out from the crowd easily, naturally and authentically. Watch the short video here…

Stand Out by Ditching the Elevator Speech – As you know, I am not a fan of the “elevator speech.” I agree with the concept of getting your message across quickly, succinctly and powerfully. Where this concept loses me (as well as most people receiving it) is that it isn’t value packed for the listener. This is particularly important in your job search, since there are a lot of “speeches” being pitched to hiring managers and you must stand out here. In my opinion, taking a more solution based approach will do just that. Read more here…

Q&A: How do I grow and cultivate a real network? – Kevin, in one of your webinars, you mentioned two types of networks: real and “acquaintance” (or something like that). I would like to know how to cultivate a real network. I don’t really think that I am relationship challenged. It is just the nature of my personality to be calm, cool and collected, and in the background. People don’t really gravitate to me. So anyway, I have 53 LinkedIn connections that span most of my life. But they are mostly acquaintances and they aren’t really people that engage in an equal give and take with me.  This isn’t a personal question. I’m more interested in the professional side. How to I create those professional relationships that can stand the test of time? Read my response here…

INTERVIEW: Networking from Scratch – I’ve been sharing this interview a lot lately with my coaching clients. It’s a conversation I had with a senior professional who found himself in a new city, with no network and unemployed. Michael had to build a trusted network from scratch – and quickly. In this interview, he explains exactly how he developed a strong network in short order that landed him an outstanding job…all without ever asking for a job! His advice – priceless. Get the interview here…


Next week in Career Attraction University:

- “Stand Out” Job Search Training start Monday

- Monthly Q&A Webinar – Thursday, July 15 at 12:00pmEST (Invitations will be emailed on Monday for Career Attraction University members). Remember to send your questions in by noon on Wednesday, July 14 to university@careerattraction.com)

- New “how to” Social Media Videos will be posted next week too!

Not a member of Career Attraction University? For less than one dollar a day you can access all this information and more. Sign-up here and get started today!

2008 – 2010 – Career Attraction – All Rights Reserved

Want to get started towards fitting your passions into a meaningful career? Click here to learn more about Ilona’s upcoming teleseminar series we talked about in the webinar.

Want to get started towards fitting your passions into a meaningful career? Click here to learn more about Ilona’s upcoming teleseminar series we talked about in the webinar.

Annoyingly, as with most things careers related, it depends.

Clearly, if you want to become a doctor, you’ll have to go to med school and start from scratch. A lawyer: back to law school, my friend.

But in most fields, there isn’t just one ticket to enter. Even though your preferred field asks for a specific educational background, chances are you may be able to bypass that.

Meet Maria

Last week I spoke with Maria, who is also a “renaissance woman,” meaning she loves variety and is one of those people trying to fit a million passions into one lifetime.

She majored in computer science and started her career in technology; coding, programming, etc.

Several years into her first job, her employer facilitated a lunch hour volunteer program through which Maria got to teach career-related workshops to young adults.

It wasn’t long before working with people had become Maria’s main interest.

Maria also volunteered trough Chicago Cares, which connects volunteers to 200+ opportunities in various areas (http://chicagocares.org/about.asp). They offer one-time volunteer opportunities. No weekly or monthly commitment. She joined field trips with seniors, did art activities with children, helped create resumes for homeless adults, tutored in the lab, helped prepare food that was being donated to an event, and helped serve meals at a Salvation’s Army.

Tip: Chicago Cares is a great way to test out non-profit or social services work for anyone living in the Chicago area. Some other cities have similar programs (i.e.:  http://www.newyorkcares.com).

From Science to Social Services

When the company she worked for folded two years later, she saw it as an opportunity to pursue her new passion.

Her goal: moving into social services – without the ‘right’ academic background. Make that: without a ‘remotely related’ academic background!

Maria was very organized about her transition. She even leveraged her analytical abilities that she used in her technology career (in which, btw, she flourished) to plan the next chapter.

She considered her options, talked to people, and saved up her money.

A few months later, she landed a training position at a for-profit university that specializes in technology. Maria trained homeless and at-risk adults (18 – 60+ yrs old) in soft skills and hard skills needed in the workplace.

Here, she leveraged her technology background and volunteer experience with young adults.

How did she get this job?

Networking without realizing she was doing it! She sort of sheepishly mentioned her plans to a college friend over dinner. His wife happened to know someone who was looking for a trainer.

Within two years, she had become the director of training; she managed the entire career development department and she even created a new workforce center.

Another Change of Direction

After another few years, Maria was getting restless again and shifted to a non-profit function in higher education – working with college students and alumni on career development.

Here are some pointers you can take away from Maria’s story if you want to pull off a similar transition:

Put It Out There – Share your story, ask for help, and do some soul searching to make sure your desire for change comes from positive motivation to want to do something new, not from wanting to escape something old.It’s important to talk with others about your dreams. Not just to get the mental and moral support, but also because when you do, you’re apt to receive valuable input. People may have ideas you hadn’t thought of, or connections you weren’t aware of – just as in Maria’s example. And, as Barbara Sher says “isolation is a dream killer.” So get it out into the world – even if it seems an unattainable goal to you right now! Others can help you realize your dream.

Use a Phased Approach – If your new field or position is quite a stretch and you’re sure you can’t enter it directly, do a phased approach – just like Maria did.

Look at your transition as a multi-step plan. First into the area that offers you the easiest entry. Once you’re in; get some experience under your belt, acquire some new skills along the way, and then move on to the area you really want to be in.

Volunteering or doing an internship is often a successful entryway into a new field. This may require a financial step back, so plan ahead, or do this on a part-time basis, if at all possible.

Zigzag Into New Territory – Not keen on starting all over again? You don’t have to! As Maria put it; renaissance folks should take a “zig-zag” approach to their career. Each time you move on to the next field, you may have to take a small step back, but not all the way to entry level the way someone fresh out of college would. Then you’ll work your way up again, zig-zagging your way through different careers.

How do you do this? By leveraging your experience and skill set and quickly acquiring new abilities. Figuring out how to promote your transferable skills and experience (on your resume, in conversations and interviews) will take some effort. If needed, work with a career coach.

Then there’s this nice side effect of being a renaissance person; you’re probably very passionate about your new professional focus and you’re quick to learn new skills. Don’t underestimate your passion; people notice it and are drawn to it.

More often than not, the combination of transferrable skills, the ability to quickly learn new ones, and noticeable passion for this new field will get you there.

Want to learn how to fit your multiple passions into one lifetime – and make a great living at it?  Read more on Ilona’s website!

Ilona (“rhymes with Fiona”) Vanderwoude’s passion is helping modern-day “Renaissance Personalities” fit a million passions into one lifetime while making a great living. As both a Career Designer and a Master Resume Writer (1 of 28 worldwide), she combines career and life design with the tactical support to actually make it happen. Please visit Ilona at CareerBranches to claim your free gifts!

If so…

Join me and this month’s Subject Matter Expert, Ilona Vanderwoude, for our webinar on Wednesday, March 17 at 10:00amEST. Ilona is Career Designer and founder of www.CareerBranches.com, a boutique career services firm specializing in helping modern-day “renaissance personalities” fit a million passions into one lifetime. And make a great living.

During this one-hour, free webinar, Ilona will show you:

- What a renaissance personality is exactly, and what it’s not
- Different types of renaissance personalities
- How to design your career
- Time management – the renaissance way
- Practical career change tips

Plus a Q&A session at the end!

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Email

]]> http://www.careerattraction.com/renaissance-personalities-fitting-varied-interests-into-a-successful-career-free-webinar-wednesday-march-17th-at-1000amest/feed/ 6 http://www.careerattraction.com/career-mapping-a-monster-strike-out/ http://www.careerattraction.com/career-mapping-a-monster-strike-out/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 20:08:40 +0000 Kevin Kermes http://www.careerattraction.com/?p=1987 It is no secret that I am not a fan of the job boards.   That being said, I was actually a little excited when I saw that Monster had rolled out a new “career mapping” tool on its website.  I thought, “Finally they are practicing a little more “give” than “get.””  But, when I took a test drive of the tool I was massively disappointed.  While its aim is to provide you a resource to map your career, it bases this solely on hard skills associated with your current position (provided you can find it).  So, it might be useful for someone looking to make a logical, linear career move (although, I am not sure why you would need a tool to figure that out).  What it doesn’t do is take into account your soft skills or any of the elements key to navigating a successful career change.  Let’s take a look at how you can create your own personal  “career mapping” tool:

Do What You Like, Like What You Do – This is as good a place as any to start.  Typically, people do well at what they like.  When looking to make a change (particularly when you don’t know what that change might be) focus on what elements of your previous job you enjoyed.  These are usually the areas in which you excelled.  Write them down, put them together.  This is your starting point.

The Push and the Pull – When making a job transition, you are almost always keen on what you are moving away from (the “push”) but often not what you are moving towards (the “pull”).  Defining where you are heading and why is more important than how you got here.  Take those areas where you excel…the areas where you like to be…and start shaping what that “pull” looks like.

You are a Solution – You know what you like doing and you do it well.  This is Your Solution.  There are companies out there in need of your skills – even if you don’t have their specific industry experience.  Frankly, there are advantages to being an outsider in this marketplace.  It is all about finding that pain which you and Your Solution address.

A Computer Cannot Do This – Put the mouse down and step away from the computer.  To effectively make this career change happen, you have to take your brand…Your Solution…out to the marketplace.  This means networking, meeting new people and getting your message out there.  While there are many things the internet can do for you, ultimately it is you who will get you hired.  The email or the resume isn’t going to get the job offer – you are.

Your job search is as individual as you are – particularly now.  The name of the game is standing out and differentiating.  Homogenized tools that “map” a path for you based solely on hard skills simply are not going to deliver when looking to switch careers.  You need to create your own “career map” by defining what you do exceptionally well and then finding those companies that need your expertise.

* * * * * * * * *

Looking for the tools to put all this together?  My Career Mastermind Group puts solutions like we just discussed into action.  This month’s Subject Matter Expert interview is with Ilona Vanderwoude (1 of 28 Master Resume Writers in the world).  You can read more about this unique, information packed program by clicking here. 

* * * * * * * * *

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE, BLOG OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Kevin Kermes publishes the ‘Build the Career Your Deserve’ e-zine with over 21,000+ subscribers. If you are ready to empower yourself with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job you want and build the successful career you deserve, visit him now www.careerattraction.com

2008 – 2009 (c) Kevin Kermes Inc. – All Rights Reserved

]]> http://www.careerattraction.com/career-mapping-a-monster-strike-out/feed/ 0 http://www.careerattraction.com/special-announcement-ilona-vanderwoude-mrw-92209-your-resume-creating-the-best-representation-of-you/ http://www.careerattraction.com/special-announcement-ilona-vanderwoude-mrw-92209-your-resume-creating-the-best-representation-of-you/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:51:10 +0000 Kevin Kermes http://www.careerattraction.com/?p=1949  

Shouldn’t Your Resume Be as Unique as You?

The resume – it’s one of the first things you take a look at when starting your job search.  There is a lot of advice out there on how to format – but it is all pretty “cookie cutter.”  And we all know it is about standing out and differentiating these days.  What better place to do that than with your resume?  That leaves the question of – how?

We are going to tackle that on my next Career Mastermind call…

 

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – 12:00pmEST

 

TOPIC: Ilona Vanderwoude, MRW on Your Resume: Creating the Best Representation of You

 

Ilona Vanderwoude (1 of 28 Master Resume Writers in the world!) will be joining us to adjust your perspective on your resume.  It’s a more “holistic” approach that gets you thinking of this tool as a more integral part of who you are versus just a document.

On this webinar we will cover:

-      The foundation of the resume-  Your Personal Brand (and an exercise to help uncover your brand)

-      Tips on how to overcome the obstacles on your resume (unemployment, spotty job history, career movement, underemployment, etc.)

-      What’s the right layout for you?  Functional?  Traditional?  Networking?  All the resume “types” are covered

-      The “10 Second Screen” – this is how long your prospective employer looks at your resume.  We will put your resume to the test, tell you how it is being perceived and what you can do to fix it – LIVE on the call.

-      And, as always, you can ask questions of Ilona on the topics most important to you regarding your resume

This call is FREE for all Career Mastermind Group members. Not a member? Join now to access this webinar and take advantage of all the Program has to offer.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Building Your Success.

Kevin

PS – Even if you can’t make the call live, all Career Mastermind members receive a recording of the call, so we’ve got you covered. Take advantage now

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