6 Tips on How to Get What You Want

6 Tips on How to Get What You Want If you ever find yourself in a position where you feel unmotivated, uninspired or under appreciated, it might be time to change things up. Sometimes all that is needed is to ask for the thing that you need whether thats a promotion, a pay rise or just a simple request for a change in responsibilities the only way it can happen is if you ask. Many people become frustrated when they feel like this, feeling though there needs should have already been met. Whining about your needs wont change anything, and no one is a mind reader. So its important to actually talk to people and ask for what you want in order to get what you want. Be bold: When asking for something, you should be bold, clear and confident in your request. This should come naturally if you truly believe in  what you are asking for.  Avoid coming across aggressively and be polite  when conversing but make sure your request is explicit. Accept rejection: Before going in with your request, its best to remember that the outcome may not turn out as you  had  hoped. If someone says no or rejects your request, dont take it personally. Leave the hints at home: If you want something and are trying to hint at it, STOP! Not only can it make you appear passive aggressive, but it can also worsen your frustration at a situation. If you want something, the best thing to do is to stop beating around the bush and be direct. Figure it out: Before you ask the big question, jot down your thoughts in a note pad. This will help you organise your thoughts and make it easier to ask for what you want, with a clear end goal. Take the other persons needs into account: When youre asking for a request, it can be easy to concentrate on yourself and your thoughts. Instead, you should remember to think about the other person, and their needs. Talk about your request from a different angle to your own. Be concise: If you have a request, dont pile on the reasons they should fulfil it. If you have one main concise reason that should be enough. Main image credit: Shutterstock

How Do You Find A Job When Nobody Is Hiring

How Do You Find A Job When Nobody Is Hiring Finding a new job is always a difficult process. You have to go through all of the listings, try to work out what they want on the application, and make sure to nail the interview. You’re going to get a lot of rejections along the way but as long as you persevere, you will find something eventually. But what happens if you fall at the first hurdle and you can’t even find any listings in your area? It might be that the economy is bad or maybe people in that industry just aren’t hiring at the minute. Whatever the reason, it can feel hopeless if you’re looking for a new job and nobody is even hiring. Does that mean that you should just give up and make do with the job that you have, even if you don’t really like it? No, it doesn’t. It is still possible to find a job if people aren’t hiring, it’s just going to be a bit harder. Here’s how to find a job when nobody is hiring. Stop Waiting Around  The worst mistake that people make in this situation is waiting around until something changes. They assume that the economy will pick up and companies will suddenly start hiring again, but you don’t know when that will happen, if it ever does. The world is always changing and if you sit around and wait for things to go back to the way that they were 5 years ago, you’re going to be waiting forever. If you really want to find a job, you need to be proactive and start doing something about it now. Draw Up A List Of Priorities  If people are not hiring for the position that you want, is there something similar that you could do? You may be able to find a different role that still ticks all of the boxes, but first, you need to know what those boxes are. That’s why it’s important to list the things that you want out of a job. Are you mainly interested in salary? Do you want a good work-life balance? Are you looking for something that gets you out of the office and gives you a new experience each day? Whatever you’re looking for, you need to be clear about what you want from a job. Once you have this list of priorities, you will be able to start looking at some of your alternative options. Seek Some Help  If there are not many jobs going, you should seek some support from people that will be able to connect you with the few companies that are hiring. Speak with an employment agency and explain your situation to them. They will have better contacts so they can help you to find any positions that are available. If there really isn’t anything going, they will be able to suggest alternatives and find something else that is a good fit for you. You may find jobs that you never even knew existed before, and they could be perfect for you. Invest In Education  When jobs are scarce, competition is going to be fierce, so you need to do anything that you can to get a leg up on the competition. If you invest in education and personal development, you can set yourself apart from the other candidates and hopefully win the position. It might be worth considering doing an MBA or looking into other relevant qualifications in your field. This will give you more relevant skills to bring to the table and it also shows that you are proactive and you are always looking for ways to improve yourself and learn new things, which will impress potential employers. Learn To Network  Networking is another great way to get your foot in the door and set yourself apart from the other candidates. It’s also a good way to find positions that may not have been advertised yet. The first thing that you should do is get in touch with any contacts that you have in your industry and ask if they know of any openings that are coming up soon. You should also try to attend local networking and industry events. If you can meet with the business leaders that are offering the jobs in the first place, and you make a good impression, that puts you in a very good position. If you can get a recommendation from an influential member of a company, it will massively improve your chances of landing a job. Trying to find a job when nobody is hiring is going to be hard, but it’s not impossible as long as you are proactive about it.

Best Free Tools for Entrepreneurs Part 2 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Best Free Tools for Entrepreneurs Part 2 - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career I have had lots of requests since I wrote my “10 Best Free Tools for Entrepreneurs” blog post to list more free tools which are useful for business owners. Therefore, I would like to add more tools to my previous list. Take a look below for the rest. JotForm: JotForm allows you to create online forms in an easy way. You can create any kinds of form you want. For example; you can collect order payments, conduct customer surveys, find applicants for a job, or register guests for an event. JotForm form builder uses a drag-and-drop method to build forms. After you integrate the form to your website, the submissions will be sent to you via email. Google Trends: Actually, every tool of Google is very useful for business owners. In my previous blog post, I wrote about Google Analytics and Hangout. Now, I would like to talk about Google Trends. Google Trends shows how often a term is searched on Google Search. It includes different languages and different regions of the world so you can see the trend topics worldwide. Alexa: Alexa, an Amazon company, helps you to see the ranking of your website in World Wide Web. It also shows where your users are from, how many minutes they stay on your website, the keywords that send traffic to your website (so you can give ad to these keywords), which sites your visitors visit before and after your website. It also has other paid features which help you to increase your website traffic and compare your website against competitors. FreeStock: FreeStock is the ultimate source of free stock images, photos, vectors, videos and etc. The best part is it is free forever. It has a growing collection so you can check it from time to time to see what’s new. It is also searchable allowing you to save time. WeTransfer: WeTransfer is a simple way of transferring files around the world. It is great for sending large files which you cannot send via email due to limitations. It has a free service which lets the user upload the files to WeTransfers web site and writes the recipients email address. The recipient is then notified and can download the file until it expires, in seven days. Prezi: If you are bored from regular Powerpoint presentations, then Prezi is the right tool for you. Prezi lets you create visually appealing presentations and share them on your website or on Prezi site. If you want to impress your clients, then use Prezi. You can try Prezi 14 days for free.

Superwomans Networking Handbook Follow Up

Superwomans Networking Handbook Follow Up This post is all about effective follow up and relationship building.  Relationship building sounds blase, but thats what youre trying to do so Im not going to waste time trying to camouflage it.  Like I always say, the most exciting thing about networking is you just never know who youre going to meet, it can be your next great business partner, employer, hairdresser, real estate agent or your future husbandso always show up ready to dazzle the crowd in your own personal way. If youve seen the last two posts: Superwomans Networking Handbook and  Superwomans Networking Handbook: Elevate Your Elevator Speech, youre already equipped with some great techniques for meeting new people (if not, go back and read those first, youll get more out of this post!). The main problem many of us face once weve met new people whether it was at a specific networking function or a random social event-is were not sure HOW or WHEN to contact them. How long should I wait? Should I call? Send an email? Friend them on Facebook? The answer is easyhandle this issue before it becomes an issue.  When youre about to part ways with the person, say something like, I really enjoyed speaking with you and would love to connect again soon, whats the best way to reach you? (feel free to put that in your own words, personally Id probably say something more along the lines of So and so, Im so glad I got to meet you today, we should definitely keep in touch, are you more of an emailer, a caller or a texter?)  BAM! Now, theyre either going to a) tell you exactly how to contact them or b)say something awkward that indicates theyre not really interested, which saves you the time.  Win, win! Another sticky issue can be meeting several people at once.  Some of you can probably relate to sifting through a stack of business cards a day or two later and having to wrack your brain to remember who the people are.  The solution here: immediately after the event, make notes on the back of peoples cards that will help you remember them.  You know how your brain works, make notes that will best jog your memory, think in terms of something you had in common with them, what they looked like, where they were from.  Details you think theyd be pleased to know you remembered are especially helpful when you reconnect.  Showing you have an excellent memory is an impressive way to display your listening skills as well. 24-48 Hour Rule. Im a huge proponent of making that follow up effort within 24-48 hours.  When fear of appearing too eager creeps up on you and you begin to procrastinate, just stop it.  In business and in life, Id way rather risk giving people the impression that Im too enthusiastic, or overly eager and excited, than the oppositethat I dont care or Im lazy.  Besides, as youll see in a second, that first follow up message is going to be super brief anyway. The message. The fact of the matter is that we live in a digitally dominated society so more than likely, youre going to be sending an email.  Danielle Laporte, one of my gurus for business, life, writing, entrepreneurship and overall being a phenomenal human posted this blog: Qualified Requests: How to Ask for Stuff, and its perfect for this.  Whether youre requesting to grab a coffee or something deeper, click on that link and follow her tips, she is superb.  (If youre the type of person that loathes asking for things, you, especially need to read that post, it might change your life!) The call. If the person said to call them, do it.  Calls are a little more nerve wracking and since they cant be edited and revised like an email, theres a lot more room for it to take a wrong turn.  Not for you though my vigilant reader, because you will be prepared.  Heres two important tips: 1.  Be in a quiet place. You might be a great juggler of lifes tasks, but making the call while youre walking down the street, wind blowing in the phone and cars buzzing by, or while the Starbucks guy makes your skinny vanilla latte and five other people place their orders, is not the way to show someone youre interested in connecting with them and respect their time. 2.  Make a few notes. However notes work best for you, in bullets, random scribble, full sentences, thats up to you.  Im not saying script out your phone call, but do read Danielles blog and jot down what youd like to cover in the conversation.  Google the person, check out their website or company.  Are you going to tell them you did all that research, probably not (after all the goal is preparation, not to be a stalker), but it gives you a better idea of who youre dealing with.  This also comes in handy in the event that you get their voicemail.  Under no circumstances should you wing this call, even if youre normally great at ad-libbing! The nudge. I love the nudge, because people are so freakin busy they often dont respond but that doesnt mean they didnt like you or they didnt want to connect.  I cant tell you how many times Ive nudged someone and get a response like this, Thank you so much for reminding me! I totally meant to get back to you but your email got buried in my inbox.  If a whole week goes by and you havent heard from someone, go ahead and shoot a quick message (via their preferred method) along the lines of, Hi, [their name], this is [your name], I sent you a message last week and just wanted to make one more small attempt to get in touch since youre probably super busy.  I know how many messages get buried in my inbox every week!  [insert quick reminder of the request you made in the original message].  Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you when you have a second. Just a little nudge, youre not being a pest, but at that point if you dont hear back, its not because you didnt make your best effort. Like always, please leave your comments and feedback.  We love it, and often learn from you too, which we absolutely appreciate.  Have you used any of our tips?  Let us know about those experiences also.  Cheers to abundant networking success in 2011 ??

The Career Sherpa Job Search Navigation Expert - Executive Career Brandâ„¢

The Career Sherpa Job Search Navigation Expert I asked my friend and colleague Hannah Morgan, the Career Sherpa (@careersherpa on Twitter) for the best  job search  advice she could share with people: The rules have changed. Lifetime employment no longer exists. The sooner we can all adjust and accept this, the better. We all need to develop a career insurance policy. Ongoing networking to stay top of mind with key people, even when youre not actively searching, should be part of your plan. But for job stability, the future world of work will be built around career portfolios, or multiple income streams. That is, a series of short-terms jobs, self-employment and consulting stints for one or more employers, along with possible full-time employment with a single employer. Think of it this way. You have a retirement account and maybe even financial investments. You dont put all your money into the same fund do you? You diversify your investments. You do this as a form of insurance because if one doesnt perform as well, youll be protected by the others. This is exactly the same logic youll want to apply to your career. Hannah has been called one of the most underrated job search bloggers in America, by another job search expert, Jacob Share.   I featured Jacob earlier in this series that introduces you to some of the best job search bloggers you may not know about. She  may not be a superstar â€" YET â€" but, with more than 4 years of steadfast, daily blogging behind her and continuing every day, she’s bound to get there soon. Many of us in the careers industry have been loyal fans for some, if not all, of those years. With over 10 years experience working in human resources and outplacement, her  engaging, compelling writing style is  backed by deep expertise in the field. She was a career training specialist at RochesterWorks,  a career consultant at Lee Hecht Harrison, and is now  Job-Hunt.orgs Job Search Navigation Expert. It’s no wonder that people get hooked once they start reading her blog or tweets. Hannah and I get together by phone regularly to discuss trends, strategies, and how to better help our clients. Her driving passion for the new world of search and helping job seekers understand how to navigate it,  are obvious. In her business, Hannah works with job seekers on career mapping, reputation management and social media strategies. As she says on her blogsite: My mission:   Guiding new job seekers through the treacherous terrain of job search by providing a map and tools to navigate today’s competitive landscape. My passion:   Helping the wandering and lost job seeker to understand how to look for work better. To give you an idea of what kind of information you’ll find on Career Sherpa, here are some of Hannahs most popular posts: 25 Habits to Break if You Want a Job Tips How To Find Great People to Connect With How To Find Smart People to Follow On Twitter The Process of Job Search Social Media, Job Search and You 00 0