Shortly after she gave birth I learned the baby’s middle name was the same as my first name. Given I am not a parent I was flabbergasted. When we got a chance to discuss the baby’s name I learned her husband’s late sister and I shared the same name. However, given my involvement they had decided when the time came they would also tell her how I cared for her brother and sisters while she was being born.

There are valuable lessons to be learned about networking from this blessed, memorable event. If you are currently or have been in a job search, you likely have been told that networking is the best way to get hired.  Approximately 80% of all people are hired due to a personal recommendation. Despite the high success rate networking can be frustrating, frightening and confusing.

Much like effective networkers, Melissa and I share a personal connection. This connection is what makes us willing to help one another. A week before she gave birth she made time to help me set up a budget to accommodate my new life as a single woman. Your professional network can help you achieve your goals when you treat your contacts like valued friends. To build and grow your network, select and for the next 90 days, implement three tips from the list that follows:

1. Determine what traits, values, and interests you share with people in your network. It’s best when these are both personal and professional.  Music, sports, philanthropy are great denominators.
2. Have heroes, role models, mentors – these are people who are where you want to be. Let them know how they have inspired you when you ask for advice and guidance.
3. As simple as it may sound, let people like you. People like to do business or help those they like. Smile, tell a joke or funny story, and make good eye contact.
4. Develop a genuine interest in other people’s lives. Listen for and seize opportunities to help other’s achieve their goals
5. Stay on the radar screen, both socialmedia and technology offer various ways to keep your name popping up. If someone doesn’t reply to your email or text try contacting them using Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
6. Ask your contacts the best way and times to contact them. Some will prefer email, while others will prefer LinkedIn.
7. Keep it friendly, keep it social, but keep it professional. If you haven’t spoken in awhile, schedule a lunch meeting or phone call to catch up with each other. This will go further then sending an email about their company’s need for a Senior Vice President.

• Employers are abandoning costly and ineffective job board giants and databases. Traditional job search is dying. It won’t be revived; nor will job seekers clinging to traditional resumes.
• Google is career GPS. Google results are replacing the resume as a screening device.
• Hiring managers are sourcing candidates via cost- and quality-effective “social solutions” including Google, LinkedIn profiles, social media venues, video presentations, and more.
• Social job search requires more than a resume. Candidates need a multi-channel online presence within a branded, value-infused career communications (CareerComm) network.
• “Bottom-line-it-for-me!” managers and recruiters increasingly prefer bold, brief, brand- and value-rich career documents—as easily readable on a smart phone as on a computer.

Two nationally recognized authors, coaches, and innovators in branded career management—Deb Dib and Susan Whitcomb—created the G3 Coach Program (offered through theacademies.com) to train career professionals in the new techniques their job seeking clients need for success in an employment market driven by speed and social-media recruiting.

The pioneering Certified G3 Coach program (which stands for Get Clear, Get Found, Get Hired!), equips career coaches, job search strategists, resume writers, and personal branding strategists to help job seekers flourish in today’s Social Search employment market. Anne-Marie Ditta, a resident of  Westchester County, graduated from the inaugural class, becoming one of the first in the world to earn the elite Certified G3 Coach designation.

Dib sums up the need for this training: “Today’s hiring managers are inundated multi-taskers with little time and patience. As a Certified G3 Coach, Ditta has the skills to help job seekers meet today’s employers’ mantra, ‘So what? Make me care! Do it fast!’”

Fast forward to 2011 – LinkedIn remains the social network of choice for job search. Twitter and Facebook, the new kids on the block, have impacted job search strategy so much that traditional resumes and cover letters are consolidated into CareerComm.

CareerComm is the 21^st Century version of the career portfolio. In addition to your resume, cover letter, and thank you letter, your CareerComm package must include:

• Branded Resume with High-Impact Pitch Profile: shorter, sweeter and demonstrates value from the first word on. Accomplishments are the size of a tweet (140 characters) and support high-impact power profiles. The reader can easily scan critical data.
• Cover Letter: enforces your brand and guides hiring managers, HR staff, and recruiters, etc. through the key points of your resume.
• Power Note(s): immediately grab the attention of hiring managers and are used when both sending your resume by email and with email follow-ups.
• Personal Marketing Brief: provides people in your network with the names of companies and people on your target list and talking points to get you in the door.
• Personally Dynamic Value Driven LinkedIn Bio: differentiates you from people inside and outside your network.
• Branded Bio Suite: puts the perfect document for every event at your fingertips. From articles and introductions to corporate announcements, these documents project your brand in as little as 25 words.
• Thank You Letter: impress hiring managers, recruiters, and HR specialists by sending them a powerful letter within hours of your interview.

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Change is process. There is a beginning, middle, and an end. In the beginning you may be unclear about what your options are. You may wonder whether your experience is relevant. Or you may have concerns about things over which you have no control such as your age or race. This is just your Inner Gremlin or Fearful Voice talking.  The fact you are reading this blog already tells me  you ARE employable.

Once you make the decision to explore a career transition you might be tempted to jump in and reply to postings that you find interesting. Hold off, there are some steps you need to take before you can start looking at opportunities.

You might make an appointment with a career coach expecting him or her to tell you what you would be good at. A reputable career coach will NOT tell you that instead they will give you the tools and the feedback to reach an informed decision.

A satisfying transition starts with a thorough exploration of career history, interests, and values. Make a date with yourself to go to visit a place that is relaxing. Some of my favorite places include the beach, park, or down under the Brooklyn Bridge. Bring along a pen, notebook and print out of this posting. WARNING: you may find it difficult to answer these questions, so you bring along some Kleenex, too. While you might find it painful, answering the following the questions is the first step towards a better road.

1. What is causing you to make a change? Has there been a significant change in your industry or the culture of your organization? Are you frequently passed over from promotions? Are you unable to find work in your field?
2. How long have you been feeling this way or thinking about making a change? Days, weeks, months, years? How often do you think about making a change?
3. How has this affected your life? Do you feel irrelavent? alone? Do you lose sleep? Have headaches? Frequent disagreements with friends and family?
4. What will it cost you financially, emotionally, spiritually… if things remain the same?
5. How do you envision your life will be different once you have completed your change?

In MyCareerCoach’s next blog post I will share more tips for making a rewarding career transition

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Susan was divorced several years ago. Up until about a year agao she had been looking for Mr. Right. However, the men she dated were more like Mr. “More of the Same”; needy, immature and self-centered. Did I mention that Susan was a social worker?

The problem was Susan had been attracted to the wrong men.  Over the years, I encouraged her to be open to men who did not immediately appear to be her type. It took awhile but eventually she started to do things differently.

About 14 months ago, Susan met Mike, who was also divorced. Initially Susan thought Mike was a nice man even if she didn’t feel that spark of excitement. It wasn’t until the fifth date that she realized how special Mike really was. Over the past year, they have laughed together, overcame a crisis’ together, and more recently set up home together.

Career paths can sometimes be like dating. Over the years, I have known really smart talented people who keep going back to “More of the Same” industries and companies that keep giving them headaches and disappointments.  Let’s face it, if nothing changes then nothing changes.

If you frequently find yourself in this position it might be time for a change.

For learn more about making a  career transition or to to receive information about our new Change Your Career, Change Your Life Coaching group, email us at amditta@mycareercoach.net.

Getting in touch with your inner voice or gut feelings can be confusing? For Mr. Putnam his inner voice nudged him while he was conducting a deposition in New York “Everyone there was very senior and making serious bucks. That’s when I looked around and [realized] I didn’t want to spend the best part of my life getting to where they are.”

Strong emotions can be a a signal that your personal goals need to change. This was the case with a teacher who I coached about a year ago. She was so unhappy with her job that she would wake up in a state of anxiety in the middle of the night.

As we started to examine her strengths, experience, and values she discovered a significant discrepancy between her responsibilities and what she enjoyed doing. The intention of finding joy in her work allowed her to collaborate with her new boss to balance her strengths with the needs of the organizaiton.

Over the past year I have met a lot of people whom, after losing a job, found themselves confused about where they fit in professionally. If you are one of these people, your confusion may be your inner voice’s way of expressing your need for a change.

Over the years I have found the people who trust their instincts, intuition or inner voice to be some of the happiest and most positive people I know. If you ever followed a hunch and had it work out, you probably understand how great it feels to be in sync with your inner voice, the universe, or whatever you attribute it to.

The willingness to trust yourself is key to living the life you want and deserve. If something does not work out as planned, try viewing it as a learning experience and move on.

The simple meditation will help you to get in touch with your inner voice:

Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your back straight. You may place your hands on your belly or in your lap. Now close your eyes and take a deep breath. Feel the rise and fall of your breath against your fingers. Next, relax your scull, your brow, your eyes, your facial muscles. Release your jaw and gently moisten your lips.

Move down to your throat, let it relax, release all tension from your shoulders. Notice how good this process of letting go feels. Relax your chest, your belly, your thighs, the muscles of your calves, your ankles and feet.

Next picture yourself someplace very beastuful and relaxing like a Caribbean island, forest, mountain top. It does matter, this is your place. It is where you go to relax. Do not worry if an image comes to mind. It is okay to feel it, think it, or just have a sense of someplace enjoyable.

You might want some shelter at your special place. It can be a lean to, tent, large crevice or whatever pleases you. Picture a golden shimmer illuminating your special place. Take in the view.As you become more relaxed you might want to ask your inner self a question about your career. Some things you might want to ask are:

1. What would I like to be paid to do?
2. What is my next career move?
3. What am I most passionate about?
4. What can I do that would be rewarding to the universe as well as my self?
5. What is my purpose or passion in life?

If the answer doesn’t come immediately, that’s okay. The question has been asked and shall be answered in due time. Take a look around as you get ready to leave your special place. Know that you can visit it anytime you need to.

Become aware of your breathing and gently rub the tips of your fingers. Wiggle your toes. Feel the energy come back into your body and slowly open your eyes. You have taken the first step to your new and fulfilling career.

– Vigyan Bhairava, Ancient Hindu Text

It has been a while since my last posting. Which was due, in part, to some major changes my husband and  I made over the past year. The biggest change was the sale of my house.  However, the move has favorably  effected every area  of my life. Each step I took was surprisingly similar to the process of making a career transition or job change. Therefore, I offer up so both what I learned and what was reinforced along the way.

• Square Pegs Are Not Made to Fit Into Round Holes: While I loved my physical home, it was a poor fit in terms of both my husband’s and my values, wants, needs, and desires. Much like someone who is unhappy with their employer or career, no matter how hard we tried to work to resolve things the same issues kept coming up.
• Face the Problem: It took both the passing of time and outside support for my husband and I to take a realistic look at our living situation. With the assistance of Robin Vaccai Yess, CFP , an independent, fee only financial adviser who objectively yet passionately confirmed the source of our trouble.  Almost 7 years to the day we moved in, we surrendered and put the house on the market.
• Prepare for Change: Aside from getting our house ready to go on the market, we had to create a criteria to find a new home that we would be happy in. While we were clear on what  didn’t work for us, we had to create a vision of what would work. I applied the same principles that I use with someone who wants to make a career transition to my own life. We visited  neighborhoods at  different times during the day and night, questioned local residents about the area, and clocked how long it would take to travel to and from New York before we narrowed down our options.
• Expect the Unexpected: If you have ever been in a job search you know things can quickly change. Early on in our search, I fell in love with a house. While I thought it was a perfect fit, the seller had a different opinion and accepted another offer. Shortly after that, a personal situation arose, which took priority. We took the house off the market for a few months.
• Find the Opportunity in the Challenge Once our situation was resolved, we were ready to make the move. We got an offer the first day we put our house back on the market. While it wasn’t while it wasn’t our ideal number, it was good given the market conditions. We accepted the offer and ramped up our search. With less then 3 months to pick our new home we explored our options. I thought I wanted another house yet we could not find anything we liked. As time ticked by, we considered other options and eventually found a wonderful co-op that would accept us and our 2 dogs. Within less then a month I was on the gardening committee and had made 2 new friends.  I never would have imagined that we could be so happy living in an apartment again.

What isn’t working in your life? What is one thing you can to change it?

You Are Invited to Attend
“THE NEW JOB WARRIORS”
A FREE WEEKLY PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE IN A CAREER TRANSITION
Starting Tuesday, March 24, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
@ Starbucks
1 Depot Square, Tuckahoe, NY
Coffee and Danish Compliments of Starbucks
Seating is limited.
Call now to reserve your space
914-961-0579

Starbucks rocks! Thanks to Miryah, manager of Starbucks in Tuckahoe for her support.

With the cost of living reaching epic proportions is it better to be employed in a job that pays well but isn’t rewarding or to take the risk and do what you are passionate about?

Read the following poem asnd ask yourself which verse best describes how you feel about your current position? How does this compare to your above answer? You are welcome to share your comments.

Autobiography in Five Chapters
By Portia Nelson

Chapter I

I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am helpless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter II

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place, but it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

Chapter III

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in…it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

Chapter IV

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter V

I walk down another street.

A key factor in any job search or career transition is the ability to effectively network. I have come across a variety of reactions when I coach people in this method. The most common response is a sigh followed with “I have tried but I have not had any luck.” When I ask about what exactly they tell their network, they say they tell their friends they are looking for a job and if they know of something to please let them know. One of the reasons people fail in their networking efforts is because they lack clarity. Think about it, whom do you know has the psychic power to know what you are looking for and would be willing to listen out for something that could help you, even if they were unsure of what it was you were looking for?

“Help me…help you” Jerry McGuire (Tom Cruise) pleaded with Ray Tidwell (Cuba Gooding) in the 1996 movie Jerry McGuire. Besides being an excellent sound bite it sums up how effective sound bites can capture interest and win support. The clearer you are about your strengths, your goals and what you need from your contacts the easier it will be for them to become a valued member your career team. Instead of asking vague questions use carefully selected words to demonstrate the value you present. Prepare a list of companies you are interested in working for instead of telling your friends how hard it is to find a job. Ask who do they know that either works or who might have a contact at one of these companies. I promise you your friends, family, acquaintances, past employers and even the dry cleaner really want to do anything they can to help you achieve your goals. They just want need to be told what you need from them.

ANATOMY OF A SOUND BITE

The Sound Bite

I have 10 years experience in selling advertising space to small business owners, non-profit organizations and schools. I am now looking to transfer my experience to a private school or cultural organization that wants to reduce their marketing costs and expand their reach. While sales have been a large part of my position, I also write powerful ad copy and press releases. I have been told that I also have a real eye for layout and design. In fact, ABC Day School and County Arts Center were so happy with the campaigns that I created for them that they fired their advertising agency. With the money they saved on agency costs they were able to penetrate new markets. Since you have such a good handle on marketing, I thought I could take you to lunch and discuss some ideas on which organizations to approach and my strategy for reaching them.

Breaking It Down

About you – I have 10 years experience in selling advertising space to small business owners, non-profit organizations and schools  

Clearly Stated Objective- I am now looking to transfer my experience to a private school or cultural organization that wants to reduce their marketing costs and expand their reach.

Strengths / Personal Qualities - While sales have been a large part of my position, I also write powerful ad copy and press releases. I have been told that I also have a real eye for layout and design.

Unique Value Proposition - In fact, ABC Day School and County Arts Center were so happy with the campaigns that I created for them that they fired their advertising agency. With the money they saved on agency costs they were able to expand their campaigns to penetrate new markets. 

Effective Request for Help - Since you have such a good handle on marketing, I thought I could take you to lunch and discuss some ideas on which organizations to approach and my strategy for reaching them.

The Sound Bite

While working out in the field I discovered I had a knack for working with people in education and cultural organizations. Not only was I able to uncover their real needs but I found I had effective ideas about how to increase subscriptions and enrollment. In particular, I created an insert for the County Art Center’s winter program. They had such a great response that they had sold out tickets for entire season in less then two weeks. Do you think that some of the cultural organizations around here would have the need for a full time marketing director?

Breaking It Down

Strengths / Personal Qualities – While working out in the field I discovered I had a knack for working with people in education and cultural organizations. Not only was I able to uncover their real needs but I found I had effective ideas about how to increase subscriptions and enrollment.

Unique Value Proposition - They had such a great response that they had sold out tickets for entire season in less then two weeks.

Effective Request for Help - Do you think that some of the cultural organizations around here would have the need for a full time marketing director?