Developing a Vogue Career - Part I

Read my latest submission on Student Branding Blog

We can learn some valuable lessons from Madonna on establishing ourselves and remaining relevant (in vogue) throughout our careers.

• Discover your talents.
• Apply your talents.
• Develop a strong work ethic.
• Stay relevant.
• Do not listen to detractors.
• Dare to push boundaries.

Need help with your resume..?

Resume Revolution is offering a free webinar on January 12th at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

Learn reCareered’s strategies in this free Resume Revolution webinar to help you double your interviews and resume response rate.

Resume Revolution will help you learn why job search is so hard today and what you can do about it. From the creators of reCareered, learn from leading job search experts, an ex-recruiter and hiring manager how to accelerate your job search.

Job search doesn’t have to be frustrating – get resume help and information so you can learn how to create an effective resume for 2011′s job market.  Register Here.

Women and Professional Image

The Little Pink Book offers excellent advice to women on workplace attire:

Often women tend to dress down in the workplace. Dressing down won’t make your coworkers take you more seriously. Some industries are more operational or male-dominated by nature, and it’s especially within these companies that women struggle to find an authentic image. They fear a polished edge might stand out next to the khaki button-down environment. Finding the balance between looking vanilla and being polished and feminine is tough, especially when you feel pressured to dress like everyone around you. It shouldn’t be about fitting in. It should be about standing out.  Read more... 

How are your time management skills?

There seem to be two things that most of us could always use a bit more of - money and time.  The time aspect affects us both on the job and at school as there are only so many hours in the day to get things done.  Often tasks compete for our attention and we find that we must both prioritize and manage our available time.

How well do you manage your time?  Check out the Mind Tools quiz.

The skinny on why you may not be getting an offer...

Hats off to Heather Huhman!  She puts her finger right on a problem that some interviewers face - themselves!  The problem is that they either don't know this or are in complete denial.

Managing your career works!  The difference between you and similarly qualified candidate may boil down to to preparedness.  You must have a polished resume, a customized cover letter, and a professional appearance and demeanor. You should have your elevator speech so polished that it just automatically rolls off your tongue with sincerity. You should have carefully researched the company and the industry.  Finally, you should know how to interview and have practiced potential interview questions.

College career centers employ career experts to assist students in preparing for their careers.  The really good career centers teach students about the world of work, lead students through various career and personality assessments and train students on lifelong career management skills.  If you are not in college, there are still a number of resources available to assist you.

Interestingly, some people are blind to their need for career assistance.  They may believe that their degree or experience is enough.  Some have connections that they are relying upon, including parents or friends. Unfortunately for them, their competition is getting prepared.

Take a moment to read Heather Huhman's article Why You're Always the Interviewee and Never Hired on Talent Culture.  Excerpt:

I am convinced — as I have been for a long time — that many more people would be employed if they just took a closer look at what they might be doing “wrong” during their job search. 

Connecting with career experts via social media

Okay, listen up!  The first place college students should head for career advice is their college's career center.  If you still want more assistance, you can connect with alumni and career experts.

Miriam Salpeter is the author of Social Networking for Career Success offers up several online networking opportunities in her blog post Your job search questions answered!  Learn about Twitter chats and the Career+Convo on Google+.

When: Wednesday, August 3rd, 9 – 9:30 pm Eastern Time
Where: Search for “Miriam Salpeter” in Google+ to find where we’ll be.
What you need: A Google+ profile and a willingness to try something new

July 27th Cachinko Webinar: "How Your Friends Can Help in Your Job Search"

Sign up for Cachinko's July 27th webinar here.

Per Cachinko:

Your network is a vital resource in your job search. Are you leveraging your friends -- and their connections at organizations -- to get closer to your dream job? During this webinar, we’ll discuss how your friends, particularly those with whom you’re connected on Facebook, can help you job search and learn about job opportunities.

Learning Objectives:
• Discover which friends are the most helpful
• Using social networks effectively
• Social networking etiquette

About the Speaker: Heather R. Huhman is the Career & Recruiting Advisor for Cachinko. She is also the founder & president of Come Recommended, author of Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle (2011), #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle (2010), and writes career and recruiting advice for numerous outlets.

Inspirational article on networking...

Martha Finney, an author and workplace expert, has written an inspirational article on networking that you shouldn't miss.  Read Are You Too Shy to Network?

Excerpt:

I’d been thinking about networking all wrong! It was about letting the world know that I was here to help.

Webinar: "3 Steps to Finding a New Career Path"

Careerealism is sponsoring a webinar on July 27th at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Description: 

Whether you are fresh out of school, or a 20 year professional who's industry has died, both face the troubling challenge of finding a new career path they can get excited about. On Wednesday, July 27 at 1:00 PM ET CareerHMO.com CEO, J.T. O'Donnell will discuss how to research and connect with a career path that will make you want to get out of bed in the morning. She'll take you through her logical process for helping people narrow down the options and make an informed decision as to which job will bring them the greatest career satisfaction.

Register

Article: "Beware of Fashionable Careers"

BrazenCareerist has written a good piece on "fashionable" careers. 

Excerpt:

There is a clear and practicial motive to re-define success.  We have seen firsthand that success based on money and career advancement can be taken away by circumstance... Success in today's economy implies a highly practical shift from things we can't control, to things we can... At the end of the day, it's our choices, and the energy and passion with which we follow up o nthem, that make our lives successful. 

Read the entire article here. 

Humor and the Job

Have you ever noticed that no one is particularly fond of the resident sour puss?  People who constantly complain, are rude or simply lack the social skills necessary for workplace interaction are a chore to be around. 

This doesn't mean that we must turn into the office clown and yuck things up to be successful, but we should be cognizant of our demeanor at work. Take a look at Anita Bruzzese's article Why Laughter May be Critical to Career Success to see how laughter may benefit you at work.

Take a moment to exercise your funny bone.   

Getting Ahead At Work

Nora Denzel, Senior VP at Intuit, provides on-the-job career advice.  Some of her bullet points are: 

1. Remember to control your PR agent: YOU. 
2. Aim high – project what you want to do. 
3. Learn to ask. 
4. Get a Life. 
5. Don’t always work to please everyone...

 Read:  Top 10 Ways to Shoot Yourself in the Foot: Career Advice from Intuit Sr. VP Nora Denzel 

You're on the job. Now what..?

You have been hired and now you are the new employee.  Where do you go from here?

JD Schramm offers advice to "rookies" in his Harvard Business Review Blog Network article entitled  Leveraging the Benefits of Being a Rookie Employee.

Considering your summer internship...

Are you currently working in a summer internship?  Jodi Glickman offers A Guide for Summer Interns: Your Personal Matrix on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network.   Don't miss it!

Article: "Using a College Career Center"

EmploymentDigest.net outlines the services typically found in your college career center.

Every student should be familiar with his or her college career center. Though it’s easy to get distracted from this, the primary goal of college is to prepare students for their careers. That’s why it’s surprising, but common, that the career services office is typically an underutilized service on college campuses. They provide basic services (and extensive) career guidance and placement services for students, services that are only available to current students and will be immensely helpful upon leaving school.  Read more... 

Be Quiet to Get Ahead

Dawn Lennon's blog article "Want to Get Ahead?  Take 5. Learn to Be Quiet" provides points for careful reflection. 

Ideas and innovation move careers. S/he, who can put the pieces together to solve problems and create something unique, earns the reward.  Quiet is your ally. You don’t miss things when your mind is quiet, you discover them. 

Read more.