by Kara | Jul 20, 2016 | Job Search
“When you squeeze an orange, you’ll always get orange juice to come out. What comes out is what’s inside. The same logic applies to you: when someone squeezes you, puts pressure on you, or says something unflattering or critical, and out of you comes anger, hatred, bitterness, tension, depression, or anxiety, that is what’s inside. If love and joy are what you want to give and receive, change your life by changing what’s inside.” Wayne Dyer I love this quote from Wayne Dyer. It really speaks to me in terms of how we THINK, how we SHOW UP, and how we FEEL in our work and life on a daily basis. How do you FEEL at work? For me … in the past at work I have at times felt awkward. There was this idea in my mind that I would be “found out.” Other women corporate leaders have shared this same feeling. We felt we were not deserving of the title or job because of some story that we completely made up. And why is there this “story”? Because I was always looking to be liked or approved or validated by others, I would adapt to the people around me. I FELT that I wasn’t enough on my own but rather used my environment, or boss, or peers to give me that sense of confidence. It was the accomplishment, the promotion, and achievement that gave me confidence. So, it was always an external thing: insert person or reward to fill up my being and make me feel like I was doing a “good” job. So, who...
by Kara | May 18, 2016 | Job Search, Work Life
No matter what it takes, every morning you wake up with ‘this isn’t working, but I’m going to do this.’ I don’t care what obstacles are in my way, it’s not who is going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me.” – Lori Greiner, Shark Tank, investor, entrepreneur A lesson on how to tell YOUR story – from the Shark Tank. I watched Shark Tank a few weeks ago, and a woman on the show shared why her sales were flat for a few years. The sharks always chomp on flat growth. She talked about how there was an issue with manufacturing, an issue with inventory, and another issue with… (you get the pattern). Her pitch was unsuccessful. I watched another Shark Tank this weekend (yes I love the show) and a woman named Talia Bahr Goldfarb pitched a product called “Myself Belts.” The problem the sharks found was the product had years of flat growth. When the sharks asked why, she responded the economy was the issue, stores stopped buying inventory, boutique stores closed, and so she focused her efforts online. Four sharks chomped on her response! One shark said a good product survives a bad economy and continues to thrive. And two others said she didn’t have what it took to weather the storm. One commented that Talia was too strategic and not able to get dirty and deal with the everyday problems of starting up a business. Another shark, Lori said: “No matter what it takes, every morning you wake up with: this isn’t working, but I’m going to do this. I don’t care...
by Kara | Mar 15, 2016 | Job Search
Also viewable as a guest post with Talent Rocket A vast majority of resumes are missing the mark … The resume is the only real window to show a hiring manager what we are REALLY all about. We get 1-2 pages to describe our entire career, show what makes us different, and illustrate all of this in punchy one-liners. A vast majority of resumes miss the mark. Why? Writing and branding our work is essentially advertising. And unless we have a background in advertising, it is REALLY hard to dig deep and come up with what makes us REALLY who we are. Lets dig in to 3 common resume problems with practical solutions to help BOOST your resume: 1) Formatting Issues In my days of recruiting and reviewing resumes, my biggest frustration was an unformatted or unedited resume. I am talking about the details on font, bolding, font size, and these details do matter. This is the first impression and there are some easy ways to double check formatting. Solutions: Use one font on your resume. Use consistent formatting. If you BOLD your job title, do this for all job titles listed on your resume. Have a friend help you point out any formatting errors or ideas to improve. 2) Action Words Don’t Match Your Level The words you pick on your resume might be UNDER-representing your actual role and work experiences. As we progress in our career, it becomes critical to update our resume to BEST reflect our expanding skills, experiences and accomplishments. Try to avoid starting with collaborate or coordinate. Those words are vague...
by Kara | Jan 23, 2016 | Job Search
Also viewable as a guest post with Talent Rocket Cover letters (i.e. cover e-mails) can give you an edge in your job application by providing a succinct and customized summary to the hiring manager about why would be a great fit for the job. Think of this as the interview before the interview. So, how do you write a cover letter that gets noticed? CUSTOMIZE – CONNECT – CONCISE A cover letter that is customized, concise, and creates a connection will give you an edge! CUSTOMIZE: If you are not customizing your cover letters, you are missing an opportunity to highlight why you would be a good fit for the position. Customized cover letters are better for your job search. This truly is the interview before the interview. Not only does this help you get noticed, is becomes your preparation for the next phase in the process – the phone interview. The catch is that a customized cover letter takes time and can feel like a big task. Here are some tips to customize your cover letter: Read the qualifications in the job description and select three qualifications that match your skills and experience. By selecting three specific experiences/skills and highlighting them in your cover letter, you are helping the reader understand why you would be a good fit for the position based on their qualifications. This is also your opportunity to showcase results. Rather than just saying ‘I have project management experience’, say ‘I have over 10 years of project management experience leading global teams. My most recent project resulted in …..’. Brie Weiler Reynolds, FlexJobs Director...
by Kara | Sep 19, 2015 | Work Life
“Give to the world the best you have … and the best will come back to you” Mirror Mirror on the Wall A yoga teacher shared in class that life is not about changing the world and serving others. Life is about serving yourself with love and then actually that self-love is what creates positive change in others and in the world. Am I at the mercy of serving others so much that I lose myself in the process? What does that do to my energy and the energy of those around me? We don’t want to give away what we aren’t giving ourselves. The action of over giving and having no boundaries or “people pleasing” leaves us empty. Yet, we worry about focusing too much on ourselves that we over compensate. Self-love is not selfish. Self-love is your energy and your central power system to be YOUR best in service to others. We are mirrors. I need to be patient with me – so I can be patient with you family, friends around me, with the world. I need to take care of me – so I can take care of you family, friends around me, with the world. I need to spend energy (time & money) on me – so I can spend energy (time & money) with you family, friends around me, with the world. I need to LOVE me – so I can LOVE you family, love friends around me, love the world. When I realized this truth above, I realized we are mirrors. How strong is your mirror? How strong is your reflection?...
