Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Where Do You Learn Business Acumen

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Where Do You Learn Business Acumen You’ve probably heard that most businesses fail, but the reasons why are not always clear. Lack of managerial expertise may be one factor. After all, most inexperienced people who get jobs in large corporations aren’t put in charge right away. Rather, they may be given small responsibilities until they have sufficient business acumen to be trusted with larger ones. On the other hand, small-business owners are often overconfident that they’ll be great at everything atlaunch. Irecently asked three successful small-business owners how they acquired the right mix of entrepreneurial skills to guide their companies effectively: Michael Bremmer, CEO ofTelecomquotes.com in California; Clarence Bethea, CEO of Upsie.com in Minnesota; and Holly Epstein Ojalvo, founder of Kicker in New York. What are the most essential skills a new business owner should have? Clarence Bethea:[Small businesses] are always changing. Having the ability to listen to your users/customers and adapt to their needs is important from the start. Michael Bremmer: The ability to listen to a customer and ask intelligent questions based on their concerns is a critical skill. And even more importantly, you need to have the willingness to walk away from opportunities that dont make sense morally or financially. Holly Epstein Ojalvo:I’d say that you need a combination of flexibility and resilience. Thats because you need to stay strong and focused, yet be responsive and adapt to changing circumstances and challenges. You also have to be resourceful. Few new business owners have ample resources, so you have to make a little go a long way. You definitely need to be a strategic thinker and mostly fearless, with a healthy appreciation of potential threats. How did you acquire these skills? Bremmer: I dedicate myself to improving my skills constantly, which means Ive probably read a thousand books and studied 50 to 100 of them like college courses. Epstein Ojalvo: One key thing is to see yourself not just as an expert, but as a learner. I work really hard at learning things I dont know. I also stay focused on my mission and keep reminding myself of the sage advice to feel the fear and do it anyway. Bethea: I got thrown in the fire early and learned on the job. I also had great mentors around who I saw as great examples. How can small-business owners supplement skills they don’t have? Epstein Ojalvo: Two ways. First, surround yourself with colleagues and advisors who have complementary skill sets and knowledge bases. Second, make it a point to learn by reading articles and books, participating in webinars, taking courses and so on. We all have gaps. Its only a problem if you stay stuck in those gaps. Bethea: Hire smarter! The faster you become self-aware, the faster you figure out that you dont know everything. Hire your weaknesses and get out of their way. Bremmer: Today, we hold the worlds knowledge in the palm of our hands. Go on YouTube, iTunes University, Skillshare or just Google to learn what you need. If youre watching something, learn something. For the rest of the article, check out the AMEX Open Forum.

Death by InterviewWhat it can Cost YOUR Company - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

‘Death by Interview’â€"What it can Cost YOUR Company - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career While the overall unemployment rate is definitely showing steady improvement, millions of men and women still are having trouble landing a job, or at least landing one in a timely manner. One primary reason for this is that some companies continue to drag out the entire interview process beyond any reasonable limits and then take their sweet time about making hiring decisions. Even though a significant number of companies across industry lines have seen substantial improvements in production and increased revenues in the last couple of years, and now have a genuine need to add workers, they continue to slow-walk candidates nearly to death by requiring an inordinate, and oftentimes unnecessary number of job interviews, before making a hiring decision. This approach, which I refer to as “death by interview,” is probably driven somewhat by a holdover from the “Great Recession” mentality, where for quite a few years the number of job candidates far exceeded the number of available jobs across virtually all industry segments. Companies continuing to drag out hiring decisions may not ultimately be adversely affected by this practice where it concerns candidates in non-critical disciplines, but that certainly is not expected to be the case where candidates in the STEM disciplines are concerned. STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and refers to candidates who have education, training and/or experience and expertise in these professional disciplines. The time is already fast approaching when the number of positions open for fully qualified STEM candidates will far exceed the number of candidates available to fill them.[1] That’s GREAT news for the candidates, of course. Conversely, though, it has the significant potential to prove disastrous for companies already having a critical need to fill STEM positions but which nonetheless continue to subject ALL candidatesâ€"including the STEM candidatesâ€"to an unnecessarily lengthy interview process before making a hiring decision. A Real Life Example of How Dithering Can Cost a Hiring Company Being in the executive recruiting business this whole issue is somewhat more than merely a philosophical, esoteric one for our executive recruiting firm, The HTW Group. Our firm specializes in market niches that are most in dire need of hiring STEM candidates, NOW, particularly in the engineering and science disciplines. We have already begun seeing GREAT client companies losing out on hiring exceptionally qualified STEM candidates because some of these companies continue to interminably drag out the entire interview and job offer processes. Let me give you a real-life example. We recently presented a highly qualified chemical engineer to one of our client companies. She was pitted against a number of other highly qualified candidates who were also vying for the position. Our candidate ended up as the finalist. So far, so good. The hiring company flew this candidate in for a “final” interview. The first day she had two interviews, a 30-minute one and a 45-minutes one. Was she then done? Oh, no. They kept her over for another round of interviews the next day. On day two, she interviewed with seven more staff members, all individually, which meant seven interviews in one day! OK, now was she done with interviews? Unfortunately, no. After the candidate returned home, feeling quite confident that the job was now hers, finally, the company contacted her and said they wanted to fly her back for yet another round of interviews with four more people! Guess what? As this hiring company dithered with this candidateâ€"surprise!â€"she got an excellent job offer from another company! As things now stand, the original hiring company stands to lose out on an exceptionally qualified candidate simply because they couldn’t make up their mind to move ahead and offer her the position, when they had chance after chance after chance. Bottom line: The candidate wins regardless. The original company with the (remaining!) critical hiringneed? We’ll just have to wait and see at this point. It is hoped that the smarter companies, the leaders in their industries, will recognize the absolute necessity for streamlining their recruiting and interviewing practices, NOW. If they don’t, they run a significant risk of losing out on their fair share of an already diminishing number of STEM candidates to fill a steadily growing number of critical positions within their companies. Strong voices are warning and a word to the wise ought to be sufficient for companies that have long been leaders in their industries and retain a strong desire to continue occupying that pre-eminent position! How is your company currently dealing with this situation? How will your company deal with it in the immediate future? The time to act is NOW! It looks as though “tomorrow” could well be far too late because once this train leaves the station. ____________________________________________ Going on a job interview soon? Know someone who is? Download Skip’s  FREE PDF edition  of  â€œHow to ACE the Job Interview”  by clicking  HERE. Be watching for Skip’s next book in the “Headhunter” Hiring Secrets Series of Career Development/Management Publications,  Career Stalled? How to Get YOUR Career Back in HIGH Gear and the Land The Job You Deserveâ€"Your DREAM JOB!  Publication is scheduled for September 1, 2014. [1]The U.S. Department of Labor estimates there will be 1.2 million STEM job openings by 2018, but not nearly enough qualified candidates to fill these positions.

Conversations The Other Social Media - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Conversations The Other Social Media - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career As far as houseguests go, the one we had this week was benign. No extra meals to cook, no extra housework, and really no disruption in our lives as usual. However, he was unnerving. He didn’t speak to us. He wasn’t mad. He just didn’t make conversation, and frankly, he’s been here before and I just wasn’t up for working that hard in my own home. So, I was pretty quiet, too. Very strange behavior because my personal brand banks on communication. Talking is right there with air and water when it comes to my survival instinct. The young man came from New York City to attend a huge sporting event in Los Angeles, where he works in the media as a freelance sportscaster. He has a Clear Channel radio program for an hour each week and occasionally writes for the sports section of an important metropolitan newspaper. His personal brand is well established in his field, and there’s really no one in his field he can’t access: owners, trainers, athletes, pundits, analysts, and other members of the media. He is a friend of a friend who is staying with us this month, a joyful, full of life young woman who is in the same field. She has an almost equally well-known personal brand, in the same sport, and she is at 24, a decade and a half younger than the man. She is confident, beautiful and most important to me, as a civilian not involved in their sport: she can create conversation with anyone. She makes you feel good when you speak to her. She’s interested in your life, your pets, your job, your clients, and your aspirations â€" at least as far as you know. You feel like you are a very important person when you talk to her. I take her conversational generosity for granted because I know her very well. She’s the type of person I make time for, even on my busiest day. Nearly everyone I introduce her to, always wants to get more deeply connected to her. People fight for “networking” time with her, not because she’ll have a job or deal to recommend, but simply because she is so engaging. She turns down a whole lot of invitations simply because there is just so much time in her week. Her brand “personality” comes across the same way in her social media communication.   She has a ton of fans and friends.   None of this interaction is hard for her, she says. She has a tremendous curiosity that drives her to find out more about anyone or anything, when she has the opportunity. It might not turn out to be important, nourishing, or even vaguely useful, but she doesn’t know until she engages. She also values everyone she meets: the president of a professional sports league and my cleaning lady, for example. Our house was cleaner this week, because she was here (and not because she’s neat â€" she’s not). Your ability to make conversation is critical, if you need to connect with other people in order to succeed in business or life. That should come as no surprise. But, the widespread inability to create conversation is surprising. Your ability to smile and project positive energy is critical, if you are seeking work, clients, promotions, or people to come over to your point of view. A smile is your signal, like the beam from a lighthouse. It draws people to you. Why? Because looking down into your phone, indulging your shy side or appearing aloof doesn’t generate: “Yes, I’d love to work with you!” Dreamworks Jeffrey Katzenberg in Sunday’s NY Times says the quality he looks for most in a potential new hire is “somebody who believes in themselves. If you don’t have a strong sense of you are and what you have to offer, and a strong conviction about that, then you cannot expect somebody else to have that for you.” The only thing I’d add to Katzenberg’s comment is this. If you can’t connect on anything other than your skill set, you may be very lucky to get something, but not get anything richer, broadening and more lucrative once you get in. The young man whom we hosteled this week has been doing the same thing for 15 years, and has not moved an inch forward in his chosen field. He finds his life both stable and depressing. It shows. Here’s what to do now 1.     Make a list of 5 questions you can ask anyone. Hint: with the job situation right now, switch from “what do you do?” to “what keeps you busy?” 2.      Talk to 5 strangers a day. Remember, talking might just be: “Have you tried Starbucks’ ‘perfect’ oatmeal? I love oatmeal, so ‘perfect’ is a really high bar for me.” 3.      Find your curiosity bone. If you have to connect it to your ability to get a job or build your personal brand, connect that wire in your brain. If it feels uncomfortable to approach people in a friendly manner and ask them questions, it’s a sign you’re doing something right. Lastly, a plea from my sparkling young woman friend who looks over my shoulder right now. She says, “If you update your tanning color or your haircut â€" change your Facebook profile photo.” Otherwise, when she meets you in real life for the first time, she has no idea who you are. So, she’ll pose her signature newcomer questions, and miss the opportunity to greet you like the old friend you are. Believe me, that greeting makes your day. It’s an indelible part of her personal brand. Author: Nance Rosen is the author of Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name: nancerosen.

Strategies to Increase Need for Services - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Strategies to Increase Need for Services - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Selling services can be the most frustrating occupation ever conceived if you aren’t making sales. In fact, it can make one feel quite inadequate. Instead of letting emotion take control, use analytical review to turn the situation around. Simple corrective actions may make a huge difference. Here is a quick example: 1. Become familiar with your prospect’s perspective first. Wally faces this very dilemma as he beats himself up for the inability to sell a seemingly much needed product. The problem is, he is selling a service that most average income workers in the United States subscribe to, and it’s a given among the wealthy. However, Wally lives in a less affluent country, and is targeting a very poor population that gets paid once per year. This population would be fortunate just to put food on the table for their families let alone properly clothe and educate them. Therefore what Wally is selling is perceived as a luxury that this targeted segment cannot afford. Wally needs to re-think his primary audience. In order to sell anything, there has to be a strong need, a want and deep down desire for the product or service. The added strategy that top sales professionals use is to first begin each conversation from the prospective client’s point of view. This is the only way you will truly be able to get to the heart of the matter as it opens the conversation for a heart-to-heart conversation. 2. Know the answer to why your audience wants what you offer. As an entrepreneur you have the benefit of choosing your preferred clientele versus being assigned a target market or territory. It gives you the power to qualify your clientele as to where you are more likely to find success. Should you be having a difficult time “persuading” clients to purchase your service, there is something amiss. Persuasion should be at a bare minimum, as the right audience will volunteer they desire your offering. 3. Research and redefine your niche audience. Unless you wish to spend fruitless hours continuing like Wally, it is best to seek advice from your peers and brainstorm ideas for an improved niche audience. Research other companies selling similar services to see testimonials from their clientele. This may shed some light on another type of client segment more appropriate to pursue. Research related types of industries to gain further ideas. 4. Create your prototype. Leverage is a key word that applies to most everything you do in business. It’s similar to creating a prototype of a product in order to adapt it to different platforms or products. Leveraging saves time and reaches additional client segments. 5. Ask for feedback from your clientele. The quickest way to improve business is to ask for input from those who have experienced your services. Ask about the current service in terms of what might be lacking or added, and invite complementary ideas. Should reasonable recommendations be made, promptly act upon them. And be certain to thank everyone trying to help you. These five strategies will build an admirable personal brand and lead you to the Smooth Sale!

Custom Resume Writing Service 2020

Custom Resume Writing Service 2020In custom resume writing 2020, you will find a better way to understand and communicate your future. The personalized messages are to help you in achieving your dreams in life. However, the objective of this resume writing service is to help people in finding employment or career advancement in the most accurate manner.An online company will produce the customized resumes based on the information collected from the past employees. This will make it easier for the candidates to find their job and for the company to find the best employees for the job.Customize your resume by following a few steps from the online company. The best part about this service is that there is no need to rush and find out the application process in time. You can get the necessary information you need to apply in the most precise manner.Here, you have the option to apply online. In this, you have the advantage of applying in your spare time and it does not require much of you r time. Moreover, the required information is even provided online for your convenience. It is all about convenience and less efforts.The people are ready to wait for the perfect opportunity for the unemployed. If you do not have a single job, you should consider this service. This will give you the confidence to search for the most suitable job vacancies that you want to attain.If you do not have much knowledge about the employment market, you will be able to gain some valuable tips by returning to a previous employer and asking for suggestions. This is the right way to approach an employer. You can apply as an employee of the company or you can become a recruiter of the company.These options will also provide you the proper guidance and help you in finding the job in the most appropriate manner. Another thing you can do is to submit a CV online and in this way, you will be able to review the CV quickly. This will help you eliminate the old resume and start with the new one.Custom resume writing service will help you in finding the ideal job and will let you attain your desired career advancement. There is no doubt that online services are going to help you in getting the best job in the fastest time possible. In this, you have the advantage of the knowledge you need at your hand.

Job seekers Break out of the mold! - Sterling Career Concepts

Job seekers Break out of the mold! Job seekers: Break out of the mold! As a member of a new community of resume writers and career coaches called the Career Collective, this post is one of many responses to the question, Are you a cookie cutter job seeker? I encourage you to visit other members responses, linked at the end of my post.Please follow our hashtag on Twitter: #careercollective. In your job search, do you sometimes feel like youre a cookie cutter cut-out of a job seeker? That all financial analyst resumes look the same? That all marketing research professionals have the same strengths? That all sales professionals have similar qualifications? Its an easy trap to fall in: to begin to sound like a job description, like a caricature of yourself. When youre trying to dot all your is and cross allyour ts to win interviews, its very tempting to think that creating a resume and job search strategy that matches those of your peers will succeed. Im here to argue that it wont.Thinking outside of the box, talking about specific accomplishments, going outside of your comfort zone, and differentiating yourself from your colleagues thats how you will stand apart and win more interviews. Avoid the temptation to be a cookie cutter job seeker. Here are some thoughts on how to do that with both your resume and your job search. RESUMES Yes, its important to highlightyour strengths as they relate to the position youre seeking, but if thats all youre doing, youre not giving the hiring manager a reason to pull your resume to the top of the pile versus another resume. How to do that? By marketing specific accomplishments, strengths, and achievements. By selling what makes you an attractive hire. By showing them why youre right for the job. Think about the following: What do others say about you and your work? Why are you good at what you do? What are you best known for at work? Answer these questions and incorporate this information into your resume or cover letter, and youll be well on your way to differentianting yourself and your candidacy. JOB SEARCH Some people are natural networkers. Others are introverted, shy, or reserved. What worked for your friend or spouse may not work for you if youre in a different industry or have a different communication style. Tackle the job search the way you are most comfortable. Are you comfortable meeting new people? Join new professional associations, attend job fairs or networking events. Get out there and meet as many new people. Are you shy and get nervous around large groups of people? Take networking in baby steps. Reach out to people through LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter, but avoid the temptation to hide behind your computer. Once youve emailed a networking contact, call him or her next, and then ask for an informational interview.Remember its just a conversation between two people. Alternatively, have friends help make introductions for you to turn that cold call into a warm call. Dont put pressure on yourself to conduct a searchidenticalto anyone elses. Avoid becoming another cookie cutter job seeker. Break out of the mold and show who you are. Your job search will thank you for it! # # # More on this topic from my colleagues: Keppie Careers:Conscious awareness and your job hunt Career By Choice’s Expat Success Tips: Ongoing Career management is No Longer Optional for the Expat in Today’s New World of Work Top Margin:Sabotaging Your Prospects: Cookie-cutter Style CAREEREALISM: Cookie Cutters are for Baking…Not Job Searching! The Emerging Professional: On the “Cookie Cutter” Approach to Job Search: Do You Need a Recipe? The Write Solution:Is your job search “cookie-cutter” or “hand-dropped”? Creating Prints Resume-Writing: Being a Cookie-Cutter Job Seeker is a Misfortune life @ work:How Not to Be a Cookie Cutter Job Seeker Sweet Careers: Passive Job Seeker=Cookie Cutter Job Seeker Career Solvers: Cookie-Cutter Resumes CanLeave a Bad Taste inthe Hiring Managers Mouth

How To Become A Better Boss

How To Become A Better Boss Being a boss is not easy.   It’s a little like becoming a parent â€" your new direct reports don’t come with a manual, and most of the time, you still have the rest of your “day job” to do. Plus, people can get promoted into management roles for all sorts of reasons other than already being good managers. Unsurprisingly, we often learn by trial and lots of error, and our team members can suffer for it. Yet, when I first saw the infographic below, I was pleasantly surprised. Mainly because the kinds of actions it would take to improve employee satisfaction are pretty simple to do and don’t cost much if any money. Source: BestMastersDegrees.com How to become a better boss In addition to the great “tips” from the comparison of “good boss/bad boss” behaviors, here are three of my thoughts on how to become a better boss. 1.   Make your people feel seen and heard This is a basic human need, and your employees are people too! Make a decision to say hello to people when you pass them in the hallway. Get out of your chair/cubicle/office at least once a day, walk around and find out how people are doing. When your people are telling you, stay present and actively listen â€" you never know what you might learn. 2.   Notice how the things you say and do “land”on your people Having positive intent is a great start, but it pays to check on the receiving end too. Did your upbeat message in the weekly meeting leave people feeling great or deflated? If you notice that your remarks didn't create the reaction you intended, why not say what you had in mind and check with them on how they interpreted it so you can address it on the spot? And if that’s too risky, then ask someone for feedback in private after the meeting and plan your strategy from there. 3.   Get to know the “care and feeding” of your team Not everyone reacts in the same way to what you say and do. What motivates each individual? What makes them tick? Some need more tough love, while other thrive on positive reinforcement. Flex your style to get the most out of each of your direct reports. If you’re not a natural in this area, then connect with people who are so you can consult with and learn from them. And in the meantime, do small experiments and pay attention to what does and doesn’t work. To sum up, the organization determines the general climate, but you as the boss create the local weather. It’s up to you to make a positive difference for your team.