Chris McConneheys Three Questions on Blogs and Careers

Chris McConneheys Three Questions on Blogs and Careers Remember my post Im Glad Were Not All Crazy from last week? I blogged about how surprised I was that so few people in an MBA class were on LinkedIn or Facebook, or were following blogs. I got excellent comments to that post and even one of the students who was there responded Maybe hell start following this blog :p I wanted to address his specific questions here, in this post. So thanks to Chris McConnehey for the questions (read his entire comment here). I mentioned that the single most important tool I had to develop my professional network was this blog. Chris wonders: What types of blogs should you look for? I recommended to the class that they look for blogs that are inline with their industry, profession or geography. Sure you can go look for one of the most popular blogs, but I find those to be popular less for things that Im interested in, and more for, well, herd mentality, popular reasons. Not that these blogs are bad, or suck, but considering the time you have to spend, make sure you arent following silly, goofy, pop blogs instead of following blogs that are more inline with your career aspirations. If you are in corporate finance, find some corporate finance blogs. Into legal issues? There are some great legal blogs, etc. etc. I just happen to know that Chris wants to get into the VC world. There are a number of VC blogs that are worth following, from the straight VC to the analysts to the critics so there is no shortage of learning about this space. I guarantee youll learn more about the VC space from a handful of good blogs than you will in school. The blogs I follow are all career related that is, personal branding, networking, social networking, job search, recruiter, job board news, etc. Following these types of blogs helps me understand the career landscape how can you understand your industry landscape? How to you find those that are most relevant? There are three ways that Ive found relevant blogs that are worth following: Go to a blog you like and click on the links in the blogroll. Usually bloggers put blogs they follow in their blogroll so its (usually) almost an endorsement. Go to Blogsearch.Google.com and search for certain terms. It always takes me a few tries but eventually I find some cool blogs. Note that there are non-blogs in the results, so you just have to sift through a lot of crap to find blogs that you like. Search in Technorati, which should give different results than the Google Blogsearch. Same concept though. What types of questions should I be considering as we venture out into this new territory? I would say that you should ask yourself what role you can or should have in the blogosphere. Should you read them like you do a newspaper, or should you go one step further and start to comment, or should you go another step further and have your own blog? I know it seems like a huge thing right now to start a blog, but you dont start on the top 100 list you just start with dialogue. Sometime the dialogue is to yourself, but let me make two points about this: Creating a blog is the single best thing you can do, if done well and right, to create your personal brand online. If you want to see some excellent examples just check out the You Get It award winners, which are all listed individually on the (very) bottom left. There are people who havent started to blog yet that will take over the top 100 in the future. Its just change. And some on the top 100 have made a significant business out of it at the very least they make a living from it. In my opinion, now is as good a time as any to get started but just be smart about it (and what your brand and message will be). Also, Darlene from Interview Chatter weighs in you can see her comments here. More tomorrow, with a bonus question from Chris. What do you think? How would you answer his questions? Chris McConneheys Three Questions on Blogs and Careers Remember my post Im Glad Were Not All Crazy from last week? I blogged about how surprised I was that so few people in an MBA class were on LinkedIn or Facebook, or were following blogs. I got excellent comments to that post and even one of the students who was there responded Maybe hell start following this blog :p I wanted to address his specific questions here, in this post. So thanks to Chris McConnehey for the questions (read his entire comment here). I mentioned that the single most important tool I had to develop my professional network was this blog. Chris wonders: What types of blogs should you look for? I recommended to the class that they look for blogs that are inline with their industry, profession or geography. Sure you can go look for one of the most popular blogs, but I find those to be popular less for things that Im interested in, and more for, well, herd mentality, popular reasons. Not that these blogs are bad, or suck, but considering the time you have to spend, make sure you arent following silly, goofy, pop blogs instead of following blogs that are more inline with your career aspirations. If you are in corporate finance, find some corporate finance blogs. Into legal issues? There are some great legal blogs, etc. etc. I just happen to know that Chris wants to get into the VC world. There are a number of VC blogs that are worth following, from the straight VC to the analysts to the critics so there is no shortage of learning about this space. I guarantee youll learn more about the VC space from a handful of good blogs than you will in school. The blogs I follow are all career related that is, personal branding, networking, social networking, job search, recruiter, job board news, etc. Following these types of blogs helps me understand the career landscape how can you understand your industry landscape? How to you find those that are most relevant? There are three ways that Ive found relevant blogs that are worth following: Go to a blog you like and click on the links in the blogroll. Usually bloggers put blogs they follow in their blogroll so its (usually) almost an endorsement. Go to Blogsearch.Google.com and search for certain terms. It always takes me a few tries but eventually I find some cool blogs. Note that there are non-blogs in the results, so you just have to sift through a lot of crap to find blogs that you like. Search in Technorati, which should give different results than the Google Blogsearch. Same concept though. What types of questions should I be considering as we venture out into this new territory? I would say that you should ask yourself what role you can or should have in the blogosphere. Should you read them like you do a newspaper, or should you go one step further and start to comment, or should you go another step further and have your own blog? I know it seems like a huge thing right now to start a blog, but you dont start on the top 100 list you just start with dialogue. Sometime the dialogue is to yourself, but let me make two points about this: Creating a blog is the single best thing you can do, if done well and right, to create your personal brand online. If you want to see some excellent examples just check out the You Get It award winners, which are all listed individually on the (very) bottom left. There are people who havent started to blog yet that will take over the top 100 in the future. Its just change. And some on the top 100 have made a significant business out of it at the very least they make a living from it. In my opinion, now is as good a time as any to get started but just be smart about it (and what your brand and message will be). Also, Darlene from Interview Chatter weighs in you can see her comments here. More tomorrow, with a bonus question from Chris. What do you think? How would you answer his questions? Chris McConneheys Three Questions on Blogs and Careers Remember my post Im Glad Were Not All Crazy from last week? I blogged about how surprised I was that so few people in an MBA class were on LinkedIn or Facebook, or were following blogs. I got excellent comments to that post and even one of the students who was there responded Maybe hell start following this blog :p I wanted to address his specific questions here, in this post. So thanks to Chris McConnehey for the questions (read his entire comment here). I mentioned that the single most important tool I had to develop my professional network was this blog. Chris wonders: What types of blogs should you look for? I recommended to the class that they look for blogs that are inline with their industry, profession or geography. Sure you can go look for one of the most popular blogs, but I find those to be popular less for things that Im interested in, and more for, well, herd mentality, popular reasons. Not that these blogs are bad, or suck, but considering the time you have to spend, make sure you arent following silly, goofy, pop blogs instead of following blogs that are more inline with your career aspirations. If you are in corporate finance, find some corporate finance blogs. Into legal issues? There are some great legal blogs, etc. etc. I just happen to know that Chris wants to get into the VC world. There are a number of VC blogs that are worth following, from the straight VC to the analysts to the critics so there is no shortage of learning about this space. I guarantee youll learn more about the VC space from a handful of good blogs than you will in school. The blogs I follow are all career related that is, personal branding, networking, social networking, job search, recruiter, job board news, etc. Following these types of blogs helps me understand the career landscape how can you understand your industry landscape? How to you find those that are most relevant? There are three ways that Ive found relevant blogs that are worth following: Go to a blog you like and click on the links in the blogroll. Usually bloggers put blogs they follow in their blogroll so its (usually) almost an endorsement. Go to Blogsearch.Google.com and search for certain terms. It always takes me a few tries but eventually I find some cool blogs. Note that there are non-blogs in the results, so you just have to sift through a lot of crap to find blogs that you like. Search in Technorati, which should give different results than the Google Blogsearch. Same concept though. What types of questions should I be considering as we venture out into this new territory? I would say that you should ask yourself what role you can or should have in the blogosphere. Should you read them like you do a newspaper, or should you go one step further and start to comment, or should you go another step further and have your own blog? I know it seems like a huge thing right now to start a blog, but you dont start on the top 100 list you just start with dialogue. Sometime the dialogue is to yourself, but let me make two points about this: Creating a blog is the single best thing you can do, if done well and right, to create your personal brand online. If you want to see some excellent examples just check out the You Get It award winners, which are all listed individually on the (very) bottom left. There are people who havent started to blog yet that will take over the top 100 in the future. Its just change. And some on the top 100 have made a significant business out of it at the very least they make a living from it. In my opinion, now is as good a time as any to get started but just be smart about it (and what your brand and message will be). Also, Darlene from Interview Chatter weighs in you can see her comments here. More tomorrow, with a bonus question from Chris. What do you think? How would you answer his questions?

Time Management Habits of Successful Women

Time Management Habits of Successful Women These days everyone is busy and overwhelmed, or so it seems. While it may be popular and even a point of pride to lament a bursting-at-the-seams schedule, the most successful women know that optimal time management is the secret to a better life at work and at home. Now you, too, can use the secrets of the masters to help you achieve your goals, work toward your dreams, fit in exercise, and enjoy more downtime with family and friends. Look at the big picture for time management. If you strive for balance in your life, you’re not alone. However, it’s easy to be tripped up by the fantasy of a perfect day in which you have time for work, family or friends, and something nurturing for yourself. The most successful women know there’s no such thing as a perfect day. Instead, they plan to fit everything in over a week. Try working with a paper calendar so you can physically experience your time allocation. First, block out everything you have to do in the week. This is the time that’s already accounted for, such as your commute and work hours. Don’t forget to mark off the hours you sleep! Then fill in any one-time events you’ve already committed to. This could be a child’s school event, a work dinner, or a concert you bought tickets to. Now, all the time that’s left is yours to allocate as you wish. You may not be able to work out every day, but you can fit in 5 hours of exercise over the course of the week. Managing your time as a weekly unit instead of a daily one will help you accomplish all that you want to do without feeling discouraged by the occasional out-of-balance day. Take advantage of early morning quiet time. Waking early is one of the best ways to find more time in your day. If you have a family, the morning may be the only time you can work at home without interruption. And if your choice is between early morning or late night, you’re more likely to do your best work first thing, while you still feel fresh and energetic. Even if you live alone, getting up before most of the world can be exhilarating. Whether you use that time for nurturing activities like meditation or journaling, or you get a head start on the day’s work, waking early will fill you with a satisfying feeling of productivity to carry you through the rest of the day. Stagger your work hours throughout the day. Flexibility is an important trait in successful women. Just as planning for the week makes you more flexible with designating your time, reimagining the work day as a divisible unit can create more options in individual days. Of course, your control over your working hours will depend in part on how much autonomy you have at work, but most companies are fine with employees who, for example, work eight hours in the office, leave at 5 or 6, and log back on after dinner to finish overtime tasks. Sheryl Sandberg is the most famous role model for leaving work at 5:30 to have dinner with her family. Don’t fall for false breaks. Recent studies show the benefits of taking short breaks throughout the course of a workday. Whether you look at it as a reward for hard work or a chance to refresh before tackling your next assignment, that five-minute trip to the break room for a cup of coffee or a stretch will improve your overall productivity. But you need to watch out for those little distractions that masquerade as breaks but provide little real benefit. These include things like checking social media or scrolling through email. Because they’re passive activities, they may feel like a rest from your real work, but they’re not giving your mind and body a break. Instead, step away from the computer and drink a glass of water, stretch your neck, or read a book on paper. The same advice applies to your lunch break. Avoid eating at your desk as much as possible. Look for hidden opportunities to exercise. This is another area of life in which holding out for an ideal can prevent you from doing anything at all. And where exercise is concerned, something is definitely better than nothing. One of the easiest ways to fit more activity into your day is through functional exercise. This means moving around as you go about your daily routine. Opportunities for functional exercise include taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking or biking to work, and using a treadmill desk instead of sitting in a chair while you work. Decide on your most important tasks for the next day. One of the best strategies successful women use to manage their time and stay ahead of the curve is to make a most important task (MIT) list. Each night before you go to sleep, make a list of 2 or 3 MITs you need to accomplish the next day. Your MITs could be an important phone call or a step toward realizing a dream. Writing them down sets your intentions for the day ahead. Try to complete them as early in the day as possible, before your energy wanes and other distractions arise. Turn off the television. This is a simple but very effective way to find more time in your week. There’s nothing inherently wrong with watching TV, but it can become a big time suck. Instead of turning it on as a matter of habit when you want to relax, plan your TV watching on your weekly calendar. Choose a few shows you want to see and make it a special treat instead of an automatic response at the end of the day. It’s even better if you can make TV time double as quality time with a spouse or friend. Then use the rest of the time you’d normally channel surf to engage in a different relaxing activity, such as a hot bath, or use it to work toward a goal. Be realistic about how your time is spent. Just as budgeting your money is important for financial success, budgeting your time is essential to professional success and personal happiness. And you can’t budget effectively until you know how much time it takes you to do each task and activity in your life. If you’re chronically bad at estimating your time, try keeping a time-management journal  for a week in which you write down everything you do and how long it takes. This can be an eye-opening exercise, and with the information comes the  power to harness your time for optimal productivity and personal time. Now that you know how to manage your time like the most successful women do, what priorities will you set for your week?

Legal Troubles What Are The Best Criminal Defense Strategies

Legal Troubles What Are The Best Criminal Defense Strategies Facing criminal charges and being found guilty can come with some major consequences that might potentially follow you forever and alter the options that you have about your career goals, housing opportunities, and many other things in life. When you have a criminal charge on your background check, it can limit what you can and can’t do going forward. That is why if you are charged with a crime, it is imperative that you find the best criminal defense attorney to plead your case and to build a winning defense to save you from some potentially disastrous consequences. Since each criminal charge and situation is different, the case that will be built by an experienced criminal defense attorney will vary greatly from one instance to the next. Depending on what the charges are, your attorney will be in charge of finding a defense to either minimize your sentencing, or a loophole that might get the charges dismissed altogether. The biggest problem with any criminal charges and the thing that can’t be altered are the facts. Facts are facts, period. A criminal defendant gains nothing by not being open and completely honest about the events leading to their arrest. In fact, if you aren’t honest about your actions, it will ensure that your criminal defense attorney can’t be ready to defend you. There are always more versions of the truth than just yours, especially when you are pleading a criminal defense. For example, if someone is being charged with murder, the version of the eyewitness might be that someone murdered someone else, and they would recount what they saw. The defendant in the trial, however, might have been threatened in some way that the witness didn’t see, so, their version would be self-defense, not murder. That is why knowing the truth and all the events that led to your charges is so important. The “truth” according to a criminal defense attorney The criminal defense lawyer in any trial is in charge of telling the story of what happened but there are many ways that the truth can be told. It is possible that both the prosecutor and the criminal defense have the same facts, but that their stories are completely different from one another. And when it comes to putting on a criminal defense, the attorney who wins will be the one that tells the best story. Pleading not guilty or guilty Although each defendant will have their own version of why they are not guilty, their denial of guilt will typically fall into three different categories: Complete denial. When a defendant insists that they are not guilty due to a complete denial, they insist that they could not have physically committed the crime, period. Things like having an alibi for your whereabouts that negates the potential that you could even be guilty would fall under the “complete denial” category A “confession” is when someone admits that they were in fact to blame for the crime and they confess that they are guilty of the charges they are facing. The two stories are nearly the same. The admittance…but. “The admittance of the actions… but” is where the defendant says that they did do what they are accused of, but that they had to because they had no other options. An example of “an admittance but” would be if someone shot another person and killed them. They admit that they did shoot the other person, but that there was a history of domestic violence, and that they were in danger of losing their life. In instances where there are mitigating circumstances, admitting you did something does not always end in a guilty charge. Been Accused? If you are accused of a crime, it is imperative that whether you are guilty or not, you have a criminal defense attorney on your side to be the best storyteller. Facts are facts, and the truth is the truth. But there are very different versions of the truth depending on how the story is told. To make sure that you aren’t charged with a crime, hire a professional, such as  Robb MacDonald, who tells a better story than the prosecutor, to help protect you and your future.

12 Things That Will Make You Happier at Work

12 Things That Will Make You Happier at Work Do you find yourself being unhappy whilst at work? It would be great to actually enjoy your day at work rather than having to simply endure it. Even changing small things in your daily routine can help you to become much happier. This presentation by When I Work  tells us how by making these 12 certain changes, you can instantly change your mood at work: 12 Changes to Make You  Happier at Work: Stop multitasking. This can make you less productive and prone to cheating. Practice thinking positively. Focus on what is positive in your own life and surroundings. The brain focuses on one thing at a time, so it is important to focus on actually being positive. Ask for more responsibility. Work often makes us feel unhappy as we do not have enough to do. Having the extra expectation can also make time go by faster. Keep an eye out for more ways to grow.  Take classes, attend conferences and learn as much as you can. Feeling like you can better yourself makes it feel as if possibilities are endless, even if in a dead-end job. Find ways to help others at work. Help people who have an overload of work and could use some help to catch up. You are also making other people happier by doing this. See people as relationships, not pawns. A positive attitude can change everything. Start your day in a happy way. Find a method to start the morning in a way which makes you feel relaxed, not stressed and not time pressured. If you are a manager, reconsider morning meetings. Give people a change to start their day positively first. Get some fresh air on a regular basis. 20 minutes of fresh air outside makes you feel good physically and helps to clear your head. So get up and go outside! Avoid decision fatigue.  Making decisions take its toll on you, minimise deciding what to wear and what to eat. See your work as a calling.  The excitement of the pursuit of the goal that keeps you going and gives you drive to do lots of work. Track your progress. Write down your goals so you can track the progress of them. People with clear written goals accomplish more. End your day on a positive note. Start the day positive and end the day positive RELATED: How to Be Truly Happy at Work [INFOGRAPHIC]

4 Ways to Date to Get a Job - Career Pivot

4 Ways to Date to Get a Job - Career Pivot Date to get a job? Sometimes you have to date to get a job. I have written before about how the dating process is very synonymous to the job search process. Sometimes to get the job you want, you need to be creative and ask for the date. I have worked with four very experienced professionals on their job searches. Each was approached by employers about positions but… the employer was not quite ready to make that all-important hiring decision. Whether it was budget, cultural fit, or they were just nervous about expanding, a lot of employers drag their feet in pulling the trigger. Sound familiar? How about asking for a date to get a job? Let me recount four different scenarios that have happened in the last couple of years. Client #1 Client #1 interviewed with a small firm that is rapidly expanding. They were very impressed with the client’s skills and, more importantly, the client’s background with a particular channel partner. Client #1 proposed a multi-step strategy during the interview process that the hiring manager really liked. They were not ready to hire though! They put the process on hold. Client #1 proposed instead a 20-hour per week contract to develop the first two steps of the plan. They liked the idea and asked for more details. We put together a Statement of Work (SOW) with a rate that was appropriate for the work ($100/hour) and defined the length of the engagement at 13 weeks at 20 hours per week. The company now had a budget. They accepted. Listen to the most recent episode After the 3 months were up, the company extended the contract to 40 hours per week. After one year, the company hired my client full time. Rather than going away Client #1 asked for a date to get a job! Client #2 Client #2 interviewed with a technology consulting firm. They knew they needed someone with the client’s skill set for a newly created position. But they were not sure how this newly created position would fit in the organization. They again put this position on hold. Client #2 proposed a 90-day contract to get the ball moving. Think of this like asking for a date. After the 1st of the year, the company accepted. Like Client #1 they knew the rate and length of engagement and therefore, could budget an appropriate amount. When the 90 days were up client #2 decided to walk away. He/She did not want to work there and had a better competing offer. Client #2 did not stop looking during the contract period. Rather than walking away Client #2 asked for a date to get a job but eventually rejected the offer. Client #3 Client #3 interviewed for a marketing position with a growing engineering firm. They have never hired a full-time marketing person. Client #3 realized what they really need first is a marketing plan and told them that during the interview. In the meantime, a critical person was fired from the engineering firm and the marketing position was put on hold while they filled the other critical position. Client #3 proposed to come in as a consultant to write the marketing plan. Client #3’s proposal was accepted and he spent the next 3 months developing the marketing plan. Soon after the project was completed the company hired client #3 as their head of marketing. Rather than walking away Client #3 asked for a date to get a job. Client #4 Client #4 was a very experienced business development professional. He had experience in a very niche but growing market and had twice taken companies from inception to $20M. Therefore, we were looking for startup companies in this niche market space. Client #4 met an interesting startup venture at a Meetup. A couple of months of meeting ensued before they decided to bring client #4 on as a business development consultant. This allowed my client to list the startup venture on his LinkedIn profile. After 6 months of dating, both sides agreed to part amicably but having the startup venture on his LinkedIn profile was invaluable. It gave my client recent experience and street cred in this market. Client #4 was able to easily acquire his next position and now is a full-time employee because he had been a business development consultant for the startup. Dating the startup made him more attractive to other suiters and it paid off. Dating and Marriage I am pretty confident that if any of the companies accept the offer to date, the client will get the job, if he or she decides, ultimately, to take it. This is a two-way engagement. The client can and sometimes will walk away after they find out what it is really like to work there. This is like dating and marriage, you both have to agree that it is the right thing to do. I have seen a lot of positions being put on hold because the companies are not sure if they know exactly what they want or if the expense is worth the potential reward. Be willing to be creative and make an offer to date to see if making the hire is worthwhile. It also gives you the opportunity to see if this is someplace you want to work. Give it a try! Ask for a date to get a job! Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...