Today is flying by and I keep on getting all these notices popping up – “post to your blog” and I keep on hitting snooze. Ever have one of those days where you keep on hitting snooze because you’re so swamped? I’ve found that if I just stop for a second, quit hitting snooze and just get whatever I need to get done, and then my day goes a lot better.
So stop hitting snooze and just get it done!
"Be at war with your voices,
At peace with your neighbors,
And let every new year
Find you a better man."
- Benjamin Franklin
"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on it." – Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The secret of success:
1. Get a job.
2. Get a better job.
3. Get an even better job.
4. Repeat as often as necessary."
- Matt Groening
"It is well for people who think to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean. For those who do not think, it is best at least to rearrange their prejudices once in awhile."
– Luther Burbank, scientist.
"There are three types of people. People who make things happen. People who watch things happen. And people who don’t know what’s happening." – John Madden
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people do that, but the really great make you feel that you too, can somehow become great." – Mark Twain
"Being tolerant dos not mean that I share another’s belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another one’s right to believe, and obey his own conscience." – Victor Frankl
"Good leadership must be for the future, not for the past or present." – J. Arthur Urciuoli
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." – Aristotle
** My favorite quote!!!!! **
"May the most you wish for be the least you get." – Unknown
"Minutes are worth more than dollars, spend them wisely." –Thomas P. Murphy
"Whatever you are, be a good one." – Abraham Lincoln
"Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty." – Woodrow Wilson
"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past." – Thomas Jefferson
What fun! Today, I revamped my blog with a new format, added our company logo and a link to YouTube. It was great to change up the look of my blog to be similar to my company. I like it - it's clean and easy to read.
Dave has been on YouTube for a while and this week I joined him asking questions. It was totally off the cuff, no rehersal and no script - you'll see that is very evident! So check us out on the daveankenbrandt channel on YouTube. Dave has lots to say on career, how to find a job, what jobs are hot etc.
What’s in a handshake? Should it be wet noodle, limp fish, or an iron grip? Is there a happy medium for a good handshake? Of course there is. When shaking hands, you are portraying your self-confidence, friendship, power, status, and self-worth. Your handshake says a lot about you. Make it firm but don’t squeeze the life out of the hand you are shaking. A good handshake bridges the gap between you and the other person. It should be a warm greeting, not a power play or an intimidation factor.
- Your handshake should be firm but gentle. Men -- firm does not mean squeeze the hand like it’s in a vice grip.
- Palms should touch, but not be compressed together. Again, don’t flatten out their hand until they are saying ouch.
- If you have sweaty palm syndrome, wipe your palms in your suit jacket/pants pockets, casually, before you shake hands. You can keep a dry Kleenex in your pockets to help dry your hands.
- The encounter should be long enough to make contact but not too long, usually two or three quick shakes or a quick count to three.
Shaking hands is a salutation, treat it as such. First impressions do matter – the handshake, the polished shoes, the clean shirt, well groomed hands. Make sure your handshake is part of the package that makes a great first impression.
Interesting coincidence happened to me this week. I ran into two different people with very similar backgrounds. Both of these people, “Fred and Ted”, had finance and operations experience and also their JD’s. They each have a combination of finance, strategy, marketing, operations and law.
Fred made a career out of his finance/JD background by assisting running companies as the COO/CFO. Ted did a lot of VP Marketing/Operations work and just got his JD. It was nice to be able to tell Ted he doesn’t have to pick one thing. You just might be able to “combo pak” it.
If you are out there searching for something to do to make work more interesting why not be more like Fred and Ted and combine some of your skills in order to venture into new areas? I think it is very viable way to jump out of the preverbal “box” and take another direction.
Oh, and also Fred and Ted, it was nice to meet you this week. I always enjoy talking to very bright and interesting people who are doing what they love but are also pushing the envelope. And yes, I think I’ve been reading way too much Dr. Seuss.
(The Fred and Ted stories by Dr. Seuss.)
Today while talking to a terrific, very smart USC MBA (he has a MS in engineering too), he mentioned the black holes of the internet: job/resume portals. He said they don’t work, on line networking doesn’t work and emailing resumes directly to HR doesn’t work. For the most part, he’s right. Our world of instant emails, instant gratification doesn’t always work for finding a job. So, note to job hunters – finding a job is very hard work and sometimes you have to go the extra mile. Finding a job is harder work than having a job. In order to not end up in the black hole you need to go the extra mile .
Create - a list of companies that interest you. Then find out who is in charge of what you want to do. Example, if you are a marketing person, find out who is the Marketing Director or Marketing Vice President. Then, send your resume directly to that person – after you customize your resume – see below for more on that. You can also send it to HR.
Tailor - your resume to fit the job you are applying for. Do not lie, do not embellish but do highlight those skills that are applicable to the job you are applying for. Your resume is a marketing tool. It helps you get the job but you need to get in the door to sell yourself.
Follow - always follow up a resume with a phone call. You can call twice and send one email, after that you become a stalker. You do not want to become a stalker.
Interview - When you get the interview remember your elevator pitch, know your resume and sell yourself. Know enough about the company to be able to explain why your skill set fits their needs.
Thank you – write a thank you note, don’t just email it. Personal well written notes are still a nice touch.
Got the job – great! Now get ready to work. Didn’t get the job – make sure you tell the people you interviewed with that they can forward your resume to anyone they think might be able to use your skill sets. Always stay on good terms with anyone you’ve interviewed with – you never know who they know. It’s best not to end up in the black hole of a burned bridge.
An idle mind is the devil's workshop. --- Lately I’ve been getting very irritated with people who have too much time on their hands. Idleness typically means you have no particular goal in mind and can be easily distracted, or in the case of a few, fixated. I’ve been finding these easily distracted or highly fixated people annoying.
First off, why do you have time to go through missed calls and actually call back those people who did not leave messages? It was probably a miss-dialed number. If they didn’t leave a message don’t worry about it.
Second, don’t call people multiple times and not leave a voice mail. You might have the time to constantly phone me, but once I’ve seen you’ve called three times without leaving a message you become a stalker. Yes, our receptionist remembers you’ve called three times. Just leave me a message. Stalking people is not OK. Finally, story telling, when you keep telling the same people the same story over, and over, I think you need to find something else to do or someone new to talk to.
Retired – Great, good for you, go find a charity group and volunteer.
Not working – you should be on the net, on the phone networking all day. You should not be fixated on one person – branch out, meet lots of people. If you are one of those people who think they need to check their PDA constantly and be in constant communication – get over it.
Seriously, how narcissistic can we be these days?
