My Three Words for 2013

My Three Words for 2013 By Jacqui Barrett-PoindexterHannah Morgan at Career Sherpa asked me what my three words are. She was referring to Chris Brogans My 3 words for 2013 post, and I took the challenge. Below are my chosen words. I hope I got them right. This is a new exercise for me!1. Deliberate: Do things consciously and intentionally. Carefully weigh and consider commitments, professionally and personally. Once Ive committed, be positively, energetically and thoughtfully proactive in delivering fully, with gusto on my commitments.2. Revive: Revive and act upon latent goals: be a more prolific personal blogger; create a more zen and cared-for personal and work space; read more outside of business.3. Relationships: Be a better, more detailed and proactive wife as well as more tuned-in and active friend and colleague.As well, my New Years post spoke to my 13 vows for 2013, Creating Striations: Defining 2013. Deliberating on this post, I focused in on 13 areas of my life I envision improving upon in action able, planful ways throughout the next 12 months. Some helpful tools and personal resources to help track my action include white boards, a daily journal, an electronic calendar and accountability partners, including my husband and best friend, Rob.Further, I have employed a new Desktop Task Timer, which my friend, Alicia Arenas wrote about in her post, My Ultimate Productivity Tool, to keep me more deliberate in my schedule. And, Im following Arenas series authored by Dr. Joe Dispenza on why resolutions dont work and how to apply 7 steps to help you reach your business goals. The first in his series can be found at Why New Year Resolutions Dont Work Part 1.Sam Fiorella  at Sensei Marketing wrote a delicious post, Only One Resolution: Accept Less Mediocrity which further inspired me further to be more deliberate, revive goals and be better with my relationships.I am curious what others are doing to actualize their goals in 2013. If you care to share your dreams, goals, action plans or even, your three words here, I would be delighted to hear!~~~Image by Andy Zingo, Flickr

The Best and Worst Secret Santa Gifts in the Workplace

The Best and Worst Secret Santa Gifts in the Workplace Christmas is upon us and many workplaces are embracing the festive spirit with holiday celebrations and parties! One of the many Christmas traditions that a lot of companies have adopted to bring the team together, is Secret Santa. The idea is that each member of the teams name is put in  a hat and then everyone draws a name, for whom they have the buy a Christmas gift. The twist is that the whole thing has to be kept a secret, so when presents are distributed nobody knows who bought them it! This can be a wonderful thing, or ever so slightly frustrating. On the one hand, if youre pretty stumped about what to get your colleague, you can get away with buying them something pretty naff because theyll never know it was you (as long as you keep it zipped!), however in the case that your person loves their gift, you are given no credit! Either way, its inevitable that at least one person in the office will receive something obscure or downright bizarre! Here are a few of some of the silliest: 1) The domesticated Either she actually enjoys taking the bins out, or somebodys trying to give her a hint https://twitter.com/bianca_pascal/status/675490767738114048 2) The deceiving Yes! My very own mini arcade game! Oh wait.its gum. 3) The  disturbing Sorry, what? Merry Christmas?? #SecretSanta pic.twitter.com/EzMAdsJIIk Dan Pulsford (@danpulsford) December 21, 2015 4) The practical Just what you always wanted! 5) The badass Instant upgrade to the coolest desk in the office! Best #secretsanta #batman pic.twitter.com/tht2znX5CM Andy Fleetham (@andyfleet) December 21, 2015 6)  The blatant hint I think they may be telling him something about his anger. 7) The gadget Whats the point of owning a pen that merely writes? Burrows Client Operations #SecretSanta and this Twitterer got a laser, anti fraud, LED stylus pen #IamBondJamesBond pic.twitter.com/Lw0jjnysQh Burrows (@WeAreBurrows) December 21, 2015 8) The multi-tasker Theyll never be late to work again! #SecretSanta best gift I got this yr pic.twitter.com/UFWjfnOMJB Dohnovan (@D0hnovan) December 21, 2015 9) The bizarre Want to make someone feel really uncomfortable at work? Heres how! 10) The Directioner I do hope theyre a fan @NiallOfficial Ah This happened today! #secretsanta @TypefacePR pic.twitter.com/FggdF9Tupk Grace Jeffreys (@GraceJphotos) December 9, 2015 [Top Image Credit: Shutterstock]

You Are Not a Failure; You Experienced Failure - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

You Are Not a Failure; You Experienced Failure - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Its fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure. Bill Gates In order to achieve success, youll likely need to fail first. Failure is the path that many of the most successful people have taken prior to their great achievements. Take Bill Gates, prior to founding Microsoft, Gates launched a company called Traf-O-Data. Traf-O-Data read traffic tapes and processed the information it also failed. Paul Allen, one of Gates partners in the Traf-O-Data venture said of the experience, it was seminal in preparing us to make Microsofts first product a couple of years later. Not only must you likely fail, you have to learn. Learning can be a huge challenge when youre in the midst of a failure. Youve invested your time, your effort, your money into something that didnt work. It is hard to separate yourself from your failure. You are not a failure, you are experiencing a failure. Lets look at some other successful people who have experienced failure: Benjamin Franklin couldnt afford to continue going to school, he dropped out of school at age 10. Franklin continued studying on his own, reading countless books and continuing his quest for knowledge. Henry Fords early companies all failed. Ford failed massively 5 times prior to launching Ford Motors. Richard Branson has dyslexia and was a pretty bad student through grade school. Steve Jobs was ousted by his board of directors at Apple, the company that he co-founded (he eventually won his way back). Thomas Edison couldnt create a lightbulb for over 1,000 attempts. Franklin Roosevelt had polio and was partially paralyzed prior to becoming one of the best presidents of all time. Simon Cowells first record label failed. He reinvented himself and is now world famous in the entertainment industry. Stephen Kings first novel, Carrie, was rejected by publishers 30 times. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Jerry Seinfeld  froze on stage in his first attempt at stand-up. Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motors, applied for and was turned down for a job at Toyota. It was during this time of joblessness that he built the scooters upon which Honda Motors was built. Craving validation? So was Vincent Van Gogh. He is considered one of the most influential artists of all time, but in his lifetime, he sold just one of his paintings. Jay-Z couldnt get signed to a record label despite numerous attempts. Did he give up? No, he started his own label and is now the music mogul we now know. If youre experiencing failure, youre in great company. No, youre not a failure, youre just experiencing a failure that will help you learn the lessons that you need in order to reach your success.

Is Your Personal Brand Getting Flabby Five Ways Networking Can Help Get It Back in Shape - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Is Your Personal Brand Getting Flabby Five Ways Networking Can Help Get It Back in Shape - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Much to my husbands chagrin, Ive never been much of a skier. No matter how hard hes tried to make it enticing, and no matter how much Ive appreciated the luxe accommodations and the Austrian ski instructors, the skiing itself just hasnt been a good fit. On a trip to the French Alps a few years ago, I didnt even bother bringing my ski clothes. I mean, why keep up the pretense, right? So for 10 straight days while he hit the slopes, I ate rich French food and did no exercise. No surprise then that when I got back home and got back to the gym with my trainer, I couldnt lift as much weight as I could before I left. It had taken me forever to get to a certain strength level it seemed, and in less than two weeks, I had taken some very noticeable steps back. Just like being able to do more reps and lift more weight with regular visits to the gym, maintaining a strong personal brand requires that same kind of commitment and consistency. Active networking produces opportunities Active networking keeps your brand visible and increases both the quantity and quality of opportunities that come your way. Keep your networking muscles in tip top shape Here are five ways to keep your networking muscles in tip-top shape so your personal brand is always top of mind: 1) Share often. An easy and quick way to keep contacts abreast of what youre doing and to spur interaction and conversation is to update your Facebook and/or LinkedIn status regularly. By staying silent, you keep the door closed to communication, but by sharing somethinga success, a goal, a wish, an observation-you provide regular opportunities for contacts to engage with you. 2) Pay attention. Browse the online profiles of those with whom you want to build a closer connection and find a reason to interact. Make a comment, offer help, wish them luck, whatever is appropriate based on what theyre posting. Those light touches over time can strengthen bonds more effectively than going for one big bang interaction. 3) Add routine. Join a professional organization or networking group to put some structure and frequency to your networking. Its in your calendar, like a standing appointment with your personal trainer. You know that the last Tuesday evening of the month, or the third Friday at lunch, for example, is your monthly meeting. You dont have to think about it. 4) Think small. For your contacts who arent social media junkies, sometimes the only way to get visibility and stay on their radar screens is face-to-face. While big events can help you circulate with multiple contacts in one sitting, getting together for a one-on-one coffee can often do more to deepen relationships with the key people in your network. 5) Test market. Describing what you do can sometimes get stale. Either you get so used to giving the same elevator pitch that it sounds rote, or contacts have heard it so often that theyve tuned out. In your networking interactions, test new ways of saying who you are and what you do. You just might find a better combination that more easily generates the response you want. When youre not doing much to maintain the visibility of your personal brand, inertia is automatically kicking in to erode it. Focusing on one or two specific strategies and doing them regularly is often much more effective than trying every strategy once. Author: Liz Lynch is founder of the  Center for Networking Excellence and  author of Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online (McGraw-Hill, 2008).   She writes, speaks and consults to experienced professionals on  how to seamlessly integrate social media and traditional networking to save time and accelerate results.

Benefits of Using Professional Resume Services

Benefits of Using Professional Resume ServicesWhile searching for Indianapolis, resume services, make sure that you find the best service by checking out how professional they are. Usually, there are different resume services available that you can choose from but the important thing is that you find a professional service that can be of great help to you.For an employer, these professional services are very helpful because they will help you get the most of your application so that you can land a job in Indianapolis. As a new graduate, your resume will need some revisions so you should consider hiring Indianapolis resume services to help you do this job. You should know that these services have different tools that they can use and they have lots of ideas about what can be done for you.Most of the time, it is not only about changing your resume but also it includes help on preparing for a job interview as well. If you hire a resume service, they will help you create your resume, wri te your job resume and even prepare for the interview with your future employer. These services are usually the best bet for you if you are ready to face a job interview because you will have to present yourself professionally and it needs to be flawless to get hired.Remember that you will need to pay attention to details when you are hiring resume services. Most of the time, the better resume services will have good references so you can check it out before choosing a company. Also, you will have to confirm that the service will be affordable so you can afford the services.As for how long the service will take to give you, it depends on what you ask for and how much you want and need. However, it usually takes some time before they are able to prepare your resume and you can expect them to send it out for you to review and edit at your convenience.Usually, the resume services are able to provide you with samples that you can use so you can take them into consideration when you are looking for your own. It is recommended that you do the same so you will be able to have the best resume possible.Remember that you will be able to get a good resume when you work with a professional service. There are companies that offer these services but you will have to ensure that you will get the best one because otherwise, you will be wasting your money and your time.When you search for resume services, make sure that you only hire those that are professional and are worth working with. Good resume services are more than just creating resume after resume.

Youre Fired. Now What - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

“You’re Fired.” Now What It’s something that many people worry about. Companies downsize; organizational politics have not been favorable; there’s a merger, and a position has become obsolete. Or, in some instances, an employee just gets “out of sync” with the company, and both know it’s time to go. Whatever the reason, those words, “You’re fired,” can conjure up anger, fear, anxiety, and even depression, as someone thinks about what to do next. If you are in this position, the first thing to understand is that all of these emotions are natural and you can give into them for a few days. But no longer than that. You have things to do. Here is a list of all of the things you can do as you prepare yourself for the next “leg” of your life journey. Take a few days to just get used to your new status as unemployed. Think about what your goals are and what you would do if you had total freedom of choice. This can lead you in a whole new direction that you had never really thought possible before. Mark Cuban, J.K. Rowling, and Walt Disney were all fired from their jobs. They took their unemployment as an opportunity to set new goals and to pursue careers about which they had passion. Of course, they all became rich and famous, and that is the exception rather than the rule. But there are many more smaller success stories. One woman, a computer programmer for a bank, was fired when her department was shut down. She could have looked for another programming job, and actually did for a while. But her real passion was writing. Today, she is a freelance writer. She’s not rich or famous, but she pays her bills and loves what she does. Take Advantage of Any Severance Package You do have to be practical in some ways, after all. If you have a severance package, figure out how long you can live on it. Trim your budget to make it last as long as possible, and take a long look at your savings and how you can supplement during your non-earning time. If you can get your finances in order, you will lose some of the panic that can occur from termination. And if you need to supplement that money, go out and get a part-time job doing anything. It will get you out of the house (which is a good thing) and you have that extra cash you need. The other thing to do is take care of any health issues while you still have insurance. Make those doctors’ and dentists’ appointment and get yourself totally taken of. File for Unemployment This goes without saying, but go and get all of the public assistance that you can. Don’t do anything rash or out of bitterness It’s easy to have anger and to want to lash out at a former boss or even co-workers. Just don’t do it. Here is what one fried and angry employee did. He wrote letters to all of the people with whom he was angry. He vented; he cursed; he ripped into them. But he never sent those letters, of course. What he said was that this was a great catharsis. He was able to get all of that anger out and down on paper, and it actually freed him from it. No Self-Pity â€" Instead, Do Good During periods while you are waiting for that resume/CV to be reviewed and calls for interviews, don’t wallow in self-pity. There are those who are far worse off than you. Get some perspective by volunteering in a homeless shelter or a cancer ward. When you see the larger problems and issues that others have, you can begin to develop a sense of gratitude that you are not in those situations. Consider All Options Some of us need the security of a full-time job with the benefits that come with that. Others of us are able to handle career risks. Assess who you are in this department. If you are a bit of a risk-taker, use your down time to explore how you might market your skills as a freelancer. There are a huge number of websites that cater to freelancers, and you may be able to pick up some gigs and see how you like being a solopreneur. There are some nice aspects to being your own boss. But even if you ultimately want a regular job, the gigs will bring in some extra cash and you will have them to add to your resume/CV. It can fill a “gap” in that document. Get Some Professional Help with that Resume or CV If you’ve been out of the job market for a while, you may not be “up” on the latest trends in resumes and cover letters. Things have probably changed a lot. And, of course, your documents have to be updated. Getting professional help is probably the way to go. How are those interview skills? Again, things have changed. There are now psychometric tests that you may encounter as a part of the application/interview process. You may even have to write something. And some of the questions will be geared toward scenarios that you will have to respond to. It might be a good idea to get online and search a bit. There is lots of good information out there about typical and not-so-typical questions you may encounter. Be prepared with answers. It’s an Opportunity Once you get over the shock of losing your job, sit back and breathe. Take time to process your emotions, and then think of the opportunities that lay ahead for you. Be sure to consider all of your options, set those goals and then go after them, one step at a time. Author bio: At a relatively young age, Donald Fomby has already amassed impressive experience as a freelance writer. Currently, he is a valued member of the writing team at PickWriters.com. Donald studied Computer Science at Texas AM and is a loyal Aggies football fan to this day. In his spare time, Donald writes Sci-Fi short stories. He’s active on the convention scene as well. He also enjoys local music, and has a soft spot for authentic Texas BBQ. He has a passion for technology, social media, and travel that make him a great fit for PickWriters.

4 Business Lessons From Iconic Leaders

4 Business Lessons From Iconic Leaders Looking at a titan of industry and seeing parallels is difficult. Nothing is easier than reading Steve Jobs’ resume and labeling him as a genius. He is on a different planet than everyone else and there are zero lessons you can learn from his success. In fact, you may think this about every iconic leader from Gandhi to Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill. They changed the world; you’ve set up a business. The thing is that these people are shining beacons for success. By following their leadership lessons, anyone from a conglomerate CEO to an SME owner can benefit. To prove it, below are four teachings from the greats that apply to running a business. Oprah Winfrey â€" “Surround yourself with people who will elevate you higher.” It’s important to see Oprah for what she is, and what she isn’t is a chat show host. Yes, she had a popular program but is also a powerful, wealthy, iconic woman in a male-dominated industry. How did she get there? Well, judging by the quote above she understood her flaws and employed people who could give her a boost. Businesses, especially startups, should do this as soon as possible. Using www.spectrumwise.com to take care of IT services is a no-brainer, as is outsourcing in general. If you lack skill and knowledge, hire someone who does to fill in the gaps. Nelson Mandela â€" “I’ve learned that courage wasn’t the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Mandela’s rise to power has been well documented. What is striking about him was his ability to tackle challenges head-on. Whether it was jail on Robben Island www.latimes.com has more insight or uniting a country, he never shirked a challenge. However, that doesn’t mean he was fearless. Bosses have to be willing to make mistakes and learn from them to succeed. And, they have to feel the fear of failure looming in the background as it provides perspective. Never be ashamed to say you’re scared, but don’t back away either. Abe Lincoln â€" “Bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” Ending slavery seems like an easy decision in 2018. Back in 19th century America, this wasn’t the case. Abe had to fight for other peoples’ right, and he received huge criticism along the way. But, the most important thing was that he knew he was right. Nothing is certain in business because no one can predict the future, but a person’s gut is intuitive. So are the facts and figures that are available today. If there is a pattern pointing in a certain direction, you should hold steady and play the long game. Eleanor Roosevelt â€" “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” To put a spin on this quote, you have to believe in their dreams, too. People who aren’t in power need a platform, and, as the boss, you have the biggest one in the company. Never be afraid of workers who are willing to take risks and understand the bigger picture. In fact, try and enable them wherever possible and cultivate their creativity. Mavericks are gambles, yet they also pay-off big. Doing things differently is not easy but vital to success nonetheless. What new habit can you learn to improve as a leader?