I remember how wonderful I felt at first when I was hired to run a national company. I was thrilled with my new title and excited to take on the challenge of resurrecting a company that was doing poorly. I was up for the challenge. The position meant a move to Chicago from the east coast and a departure from my comfort zone of colleagues, family, and friends. My … [Read more...]
8 Tips to Ace an Interview
Congratulations! It’s not easy to land an interview for a new position these days. The market place is overloaded with qualified applicants seeking employment, and the fact that you made it this far is indeed encouraging. But, you still need to ace the interview and it’s critical to do some preparation to showcase your talent and communicate how your expertise will … [Read more...]
Be an Advocate for Yourself
A recent Catalyst study demonstrates that mentoring does not help career advancement to the degree that sponsorship does. Mentoring is defined as career advice and guidance and sponsorship is advocacy. Usually sponsors have more senior positions than mentors, and it is their responsibility to advocate for an individual and pull them up the ranks to a top level position in … [Read more...]
Is a Corporate Board Seat in Your Future?
This past week I had the opportunity to not only attend the MA Conference for Women, but also to participate in a leadership panel about women and corporate board positions. My role on the panel was to speak about how women can promote themselves and increase their credibility and visibility so they can get a board appointment. It was a wonderful experience and I was … [Read more...]
Ask for a Promotion
According to Donald Asher, author of Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t and Why, “Bosses assume that any employee who doesn’t ask for more is satisfied with his job.” If this is accurate, which I suspect it is, why don’t we ask about opportunities to move up? Our hesitancy to ask for a promotion is more than likely related to our overall fear of self promotion. When we … [Read more...]
Five Mistakes We Make at Networking Events
Whether you are a solo entrepreneur or small business owner or career professional, you probably spend a fair amount of your time at networking events to build your business. Here are some common mistakes we make at networking events: 1. We schmooze, but don’t make the necessary connection with people to get business. It’s great to meet new people, but effective … [Read more...]
Using Benefit Language to Communicate Your Value
If you've ever had an introductory course in sales, you know what WIIFM’s are. WIIFM stands for “What’s In It For Me?” and these statements focus our sales efforts on how our product or service benefits the customer. They are meant to shift our mindset from our own agenda to what the customer wants and needs. It has been my experience that using this benefit language is … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Take Off Your Mask
Don’t you love Halloween? It’s not just because of the sweet treats. It’s so much fun to dress up in costume and take on the identity of someone or something else for the day. The holiday festivities give us an excuse to put on a mask and adopt a new persona. Perhaps we choose to be someone funny, or maybe we become a scary monster. Maybe we don some sexy clothing that’s … [Read more...]
The Vulnerable Leader
The definition of being vulnerable is to be open to criticism or moral attack; to be susceptible to being wounded or hurt. I think it goes without saying that most people do not choose to be in a position where they could be easily hurt or criticized. Most of us, in fact, avoid any situation where we could potentially be exposed to this type of scrutiny or risk. Our … [Read more...]
Is Perfectionism Sabotaging Your Career?
It’s absolutely impossible to be perfect. I think on some level we all know this is true. So I think it’s very interesting that many of us live our lives pursuing perfection. Think about it. How much of your own life is spent trying to be perfect? How much emotional energy do you invest in perfectionism even though you realize it’s not possible to achieve? And, what … [Read more...]