Oh, wait! If you’re like me, you never call the person again! No, instead, several months later when you’re clearing out your George Costanza-sized wallet, you see a stash of old business cards – most of them faded and unreadable in places from the creases – and you wonder, Who the heck are these people?

Now, granted, I’m a pack rat, and I do hold onto stuff. But say you’re not a pack rat. Non-pack rats will go home, realize they’ll never call the person on the card again, and throw the card out.

This is disturbing for multiple reasons: Cost of printing (those business cards aren’t free, you know), environmental (how many of those business cards have you distributed?). Most of all, though, it’s the shame of a missed opportunity: a missed opportunity for a potentially great friendship or business contact (and let’s face it, in these tough economic times, having both is the best).

So what if you knew that no one would ever throw away your business card again? Are you intrigued? And what if you could know that your business card might be looked at over and over and over again? I’m not talking about graphic design. I’m not talking about welding your card onto someone’s dashboard. And I’m not talking about buckoos of cash! Some of you may know where I’m going with this, and I’ll go ahead and say it: You need to write a book!

Write a Book? Me?

I knew there was a catch, you might be thinking. “What are you talking about, Thompson? I can’t write a book!” Why not? I’ve heard it said many times that everyone has a book in them.

So, what’s your story? You should write it down. And now, it’s easier (and cheaper) than ever for you to write your story – whether it’s about your company, about your passion, about your charity, about your fictional story, or about your own life and experiences (but for the sake of the business card argument, let’s stick with your business).

Why Books are the New Business Cards

Remember when I asked you to talk about that business card from the guy you met earlier in this post? You had thrown it away, right? Why is that? Because that’s what people do with business cards. More than 80 percent of people who take your business card will throw it away. And sticking it in those fish bowls at Qdoba? Forget about it! That was a whole $0.78 you’ll never get back!

But when was the last time you threw a book away? My guess is, unless you live in a Communist country, you have seldom – if ever – thrown a book away. Books don’t get thrown away. They might get sold at yard sales or to a used book store, but most people find it hard to toss something like a book.

And usually for a long time before that happens, even if that business contact doesn’t read your book immediately, she will almost certainly place it on a shelf in her office or home book case. And books that sit on shelves and bookcases get noticed. Make no mistake, they get noticed. And if your content is compelling enough, passionate enough, and your title is intriguing enough that it begs to be opened, your book WILL get read!

The Cheapest, Fastest Ways to Publish Your Books!

Okay, maybe I’ve sold you on the potential power of giving out books to your business contacts or clients, but I haven’t sold you on writing your own yet. “I don’t have that kind of time,” you might say, in which case, I can’t help you. You have to make your own time, but I can tell you, unless you are a circus performer with two Blu-Tooth headsets on and the President of the US on one of them giving you secret service commands every waking minute of the day, you have the time.

If you do decide to make the time, you may be wondering, “Don’t I have to pay for publishing? Isn’t that extremely expensive? And what if nobody reads it?”

My answers: No. No. And that really depends on how interesting your book is.

If your book is interesting, you can publish it for next to nothing. You may try a print-on-demand publisher that takes your material and prints it and distributes it only to the people who order it. I think some POD publishers extremely fast, reliable, and have great quality.

So, what’s your story?

All right, so I’ve told you my story. So, what’s yours? Have you written a business card aka a book? Have a great idea for one? Let’s talk!

Photo by kvanhorn.

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People may think they’re doing enough to aid their job search when in fact they could be doing a lot more. There are numerous ways to further your search, potentially shortening the time spent unemployed and increasing your chances of landing a full time job, some of which are explained below.

How to Get a Job

Two-part series on how you can combat unemployment and get that gig — now!

Part I: People and Places

1. Job search websites: There are literally hundreds of these sites on the web. Websites such as TotalJobs, Beyond and Jobcentral offer a huge variety of job vacancies and do their best to find a job suitable for you. Aim to apply for as many as you can every day. The more you apply the more chance you have of someone getting in touch.
2. Recruitment agencies: You should be able to find recruitment agencies dotted all over the place. The advantage of going to these places is that you can develop a relationship with the agent and they can give you first hand help. They build an understanding of what you’re looking for and can offer you various opportunities.
3. Speaking to friends and family: Friends and family can often be your best bet. Family members will really want to help you out and will try their best to find you a vacancy. If you’re close family can’t help you then branch out to aunties, uncles and cousins. Don’t be shy to ask people, again it’s a numbers game, the more people you ask the more chance you have of landing a job.
4. Social Media: Contacting companies and building relationships via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin can be an effective technique. It’s a quick and easy way of getting your message across and discovering new vacancies.
5. CV Posting and Phone Calls: Print out a large number of CV’s and get yourself out there. Go to shopping centres and companies of interest – it’s a good starting point. Making the effort to get yourself out and about doesn’t go unnoticed, employers will appreciate the motivation.
   
   If a company is a fair journey away then make phone-calls. Again this is a chance to speak to an employer first hand and make a good impression. You may be able to speak directly about apprenticeship vacancies or training courses and get a good understanding of the company. You can always use the internet and online directories as well to discover new local companies that will take your CV.

Part II: Organization and Motivation

It’s easy to get bored and fed up when you’re unemployed. With no reason to get up early in the mornings a ‘lazy-boy’ routine is often inevitable. Late nights and lengthy morning lie-ins don’t leave much time in the day to get motivated and ready for your job search. Switching on the TV or computer may feel like the only option.

Creating a job search schedule is a great idea to combat this. Treating your job search as a full time activity is one of the best ways to increase your chances and keep motivated. A suggested approach would include the following key areas of job search.

• Aim to spend two to three hours a day on online job search.
• Aim to get up at around 9am to avoid becoming lazy and discouraged.
• Aim to visit at least 3 recruitment agencies a week.
• Make a list of friends and family to call.
• Do thorough research and make a list of companies to call.
• Make a list of places you can go to post CV’s, plan out your journeys and explore different areas.
• Spend at least one day out posting CV’S.
• Eat relatively healthy and spend at least one hour a day exercising, the release of endorphins will keep spirits high and in parallel keep your motivation levels up.

All factors when applied to a job search schedule will undoubtedly boosts one’s chances of finding work. A good job search schedule will incorporate time to job hunt along with time to exercise and relax. Exercise and relaxation are crucial to not overworking yourself and becoming distressed, and on the other hand also stop you becoming lazy.

Share your tips about how to get a job in the comments below.

Photo by Mike Monaghan – www.bluesunsetdesign.com.

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I’ve found there are a lot of small things you can do once a day, once a week, or even once a month to boost your status from a 9-to-5 worker to keystone employee. Here’s how you can do it.

5 Ways How to Work Better At Your Job

1.  Do more

Problem: How many times a day do you get up to stand near the water cooler and catch passing conversations? Do you find yourself walking to the bathroom when you don’t actually need to go? Although sometimes we all need to clear our brain and get a stretch, you may also be avoiding doing work.

Do This Instead: Getting your work done a little earlier can open up time at the end of the day to help your boss or co-workers with last minute projects.

Solution: Cut your daily walks to the kitchen in half and aim to get all your work done a little early. This will free you up to take on a quick assignment. When your boss sees that you are proactive about taking on more work, you seem like an important player in the workday.

 2.  Be organized

Problem: You have a million things to do between work and home every single day. We expect our brains to hold it all neatly in place. Focusing on a spreadsheet when you keep reminding yourself to get a babysitter for this weekend inhibits you from truly focusing on work.

Do This Instead: When you write down your thoughts, due dates and obligations, your brain is free to focus on one thing at a time. This will allow you to put all your energy into the current project, thus getting better work done.

Solution: Thankfully, the wide world of technology has given us a wonderful gift called Widgets. You can download desktop items such as calendars, which will allow you to input due dates for the future. You can also keep a pad of paper next to your computer, and jot down thoughts as they come to your mind.

3.  Always keep learning

Problem: If you’re stuck in the same position for a long time, your mind tricks you into believing that you’ve learned all you need to know. Yet, our evolving world, heck our evolving Internet, has something new to teach you every day.

Do This Instead: Learn something new that pertains to your everyday job. This will almost instantly be put into use. You’d be surprised to find that learning something new may spark you to challenge yourself, which can elevate your work to a new level.

Solution: Refresh yourself and your work. Frequently visit the blogosphere, and see what’s new. Subscribe to new websites and converse with others in your field.

4.  Shut off the clock

Problem: When you step outside the doors of your office, you forget to turn off work and turn on life. When you hold onto stress from the day before the problems will keep compounding. This can restrict your ability to produce new, good work every day.

Do This Instead: As with anything in life, if you carry around the stress of an outside factor you can’t enjoy the simple pleasure of having a good dinner, or watching a show you DVR’d. Have some evening time to yourself and dispel your stress from the day; this will leave you fresh for a new day of work.

Solution: Shed your work clothes as soon as you get home. Put on something comfortable and slip into home life and out of your office mindset.

5.  Get to know your co-workers

Problem: Without someone to vent to, work problems can inhibit your ability to create successful work. When you are frustrated with work problems, you lose the drive to always do your best.

Do this Instead: Even if you only chat during the day at work, misery loves company. In the best sense of the phrase, making work friends will ease irritations.

Solution: Get the morning stress out of your system at lunch, for example, so you’re freed up to take on the new tasks of the afternoon. Getting through the last wee hours of the day can be tough. A good employee works smart straight through until the end, and this just might be your one way ticket to 5pm.

Here you go then. Five neat tips on how to work better!

In a scary job market, we all want to keep our jobs. Prove why you are a valuable member in the office. Make simple tweaks to what you normally do every day and see the biggest difference.

Got more ideas? We’d love to hear your tips on how to work better in the comments!

Photo by lululemon athletica.

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However, there are also downsides of working at home. It is up to you to make a decision – whether you want the remote working to improve your work quality and career or turn it intoprocrastination and slacking off.

1. You don’t feel you are working

The first obvious danger is that you don’t feel like you are working at all. This is because you associate the environment where you work as being a part of your personal life, not work.

Working from home means that the boundaries between work and personal time are blurred. Nobody stops you from doing some household work during the workday, because you feel like being at home, not at work.

Would you wash the laundry or iron your pants if you were at the office? You probably wouldn’t.

How to fix:

Feel grateful that you have a chance to work at home and treat it as the same kind of work as going to the office.

However, if you think all the temptations at home are too irresistible, go back to work on a traditional office environment if it suits you better.

2. Your family members won’t understand that you are working

Your family can be one reason, why you are not getting your stuff done and why you get distracted.

For younger children, it may be hard to understand that you are working – not at home for play.

When it comes to adults, you spouse may want you to participate to household work. But as you know, you cannot do that – you are working.

How to fix:

Setting clear boundaries and communicating them with your family is the way to fix this issue. That way, everyone knows the rules and they won’t expect anything from you during your working hours.

3. You are slacking off, because your boss is not watching

You may be thinking, “Nobody is watching if I work or not. In fact, I can do whatever I want, because no one is peeking over my shoulder.”

Keep having this attitude and your days in the company are done. Although slacking off may work as a very short sighted strategy, your boss will eventually know, if you are not able to meet your deadlines.

He/she starts to question your work motivation and it is only a matter of time, when you get caught up.

How to fix:

In order to prevent this from happening, you have pretty much two options:

a) Get back to working at the office, if the environment is putting you enough pressure to work on your tasks

b) Quit your current job and find your motivation elsewhere (either in another position in the same company, changing workplace altogether or starting your own business)

If you are slacking off, you clearly don’t have the motivation to keep up with your work. Instead, you have to find some stimulating work instead. If it is not inside the company you work for, change jobs or start your own business.

4. You alienate yourself from work community

One of the biggest downsides of working at home is that it has a danger of alienating you from your colleagues and the work community. It’s like you are working in isolation from the rest of your colleagues.

How to fix:

The way I handle this situation is that I have certain days at the office while other days I work at home. This brings a great balance to my work routines, thus eliminating the isolation effect.

It also helps to be in real-time communication with your colleagues as much as possible (by using telephone, video conferencing or chats).

5. You work too much

Working from home is very convenient in many ways: You don’t have to commute, you can work in the comfort of your home and the distractions of an open office are not present.

But there is a darker side of this: It is too easy to get involved into your work stuff after the office hours, because you work is at your home. All you need is to turn on your laptop and connect to your company’s network and you are all set.

No one is stopping you from working longer hours or even checking your e-mails while you are in the bed – just before turning off the lights and getting some sleep.

You have to understand that you are doing that in the expense of your family (and the expense of your free time). In fact, you are most probably not going to get paid anything extra for doing the additional work, so why would you do that?

How to fix:

More than anything, you need to set clear boundaries – with yourself and with your family.

You have to set the time limits when you work at home and also let your family members know about this.

The easiest way to stop working is when the office time ends. However, if you absolutely need to check the e-mail later in the evening, have a short dedicated time block for doing that.

We are not meant to work all the time and the free-time (after the office hours) is there for a reason – it is for recharging our batteries, so that we can be more productive when we work.

Respect your free time, so you get more done at work – and you don’t necessarily have to work after office hours.

What has been your experience with working at home?

Photo by medigerati.

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Just like dating, the company you’re wooing wants to feel special and wanted, not just for the money or perks, but for the overall experience.

In both situations, the best way to do this is to learn about them and approach them in a tailored way. In your job search, this all begins with your resume.

Customizing your resume for an employer is a lot simpler than it seems. Below, I have included three different ways to create a custom resume as efficiently as possible:

Create a Master

Unless you’re a glutton for punishment, you probably don’t want to re-write a new resume each time you find an open position. Emily Chapman of HackCollege has the answer: Create a master resume. It’s so simple, yet genius.

If you want to create your own master resume, simply open your favorite word processor and write out any and everything that would find itself on your resume. Every single job you’ve held, your complete educational history, skill. . .You name it.

Then, when a new opportunity comes around, you can simply copy and paste the relevant information into a new document, thus creating a tailored resume.

Template It

I advise you to tread lightly in this territory – while templates are incredibly handy, sometimes they can muck things up far more than they can help. However, having a template on hand (just like with a master, above), can make things a lot easier when you are tailoring a resume.

Just like a shirt you hem, there are certain elements on your resume that are always going to stay the same (your name, contact information, basic layout of work experience, education and skills). Include these in your template to spare wasting time. As a warning, be sure to keep any formatting in your resume simple. No employer wants to decipher a jumbled resume.

Mirror the Ad

A job ad is really an employer’s gift to you. After all, in this ad, your potential boss is telling you exactly what it takes to get this job. As the employer looks through your resume, they are more or less using that ad as a checklist to evaluate your qualifications.

Make this easier for the both of you by mirroring the ad in your resume. Does the ad start off with skills? Then your resume should start with skills. Does it finish off with education requirements? Then your resume should end with education history. This might not be very noticeable, but anything that makes your resume easier to read makes it easier to get hired.

What do you think? What other tips should a job seeker keep in mind when tailoring their resume? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo courtesy: thestantonmagazine.com

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Considering how you look for a romantic partner may help point the way to finding the right employment match. And considering how much time you may end up spending at work, finding the right fit makes it just as important.

There are lots of different ways to connect. So, what’s your style?

The Hunt

Know what you want

Tall, dark, and white collar or windblown surf-ette, when it comes to a romantic partner we all know what we like without thinking too much about it. We’re attracted to people who ‘fit’ and ‘get’ us. The same is true about the kind of company you work for. It just may not be quite as intuitive and may take some soul searching to find out what you prefer.

Know where to find it

Ask all of your coupled friends how they met and you’ll get just as many answers! There are so many places to look for love — and employers — that you won’t go wrong looking at any and all of them. They key is to get out there and look everywhere. There is a reason it’s called a job hunt.

Do you know a friend of a friend who works at the company you have your eye on? Get them to introduce you! Networking is one of the oldest and best ways to find your perfect match. It holds the added bonus of having someone connected to vouch for you.

If you don’t know anyone associated with your heart’s desire, the vast resources of the Internet are only a click away. Just as online dating has come out of the dark corners of the Web to be a legitimate way to meet people, business networking sites are a great way to connect and research companies that you are interested in. And don’t forget to scan your local paper as well; your heart’s desire may already be under your nose and in your own community!

The Woo

Putting your best foot forward: The date (interview)

Do you remember the date who showed up late, smelly from the bike ride he/she had taken earlier in the day and who talked only of themselves? Yeah, I don’t either. I’m sure he/she was a great person but never got a second date because everything about him or her said, “I don’t care.” Don’t let that happen to you!

Once you have found ‘the one,’ it’s time to show your stuff. The interview is your ‘first date’ with this company. Present your best possible self by showing up on time, in your most polished and professional outfit and ready to charm. You want this company to know you’re into them! Let them know why you would be good together. Similar to a first date, don’t hog the conversation. You will be answering questions about yourself, sure, but be as succinct as possible.  Shakespeare said it best, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”

The Next Day

Follow-up! Would you wait around after a fantastic date with your dream girl to see if she calls you? Don’t make your company of choice wait to hear from you. Send an email to follow-up or a handwritten note if that is more your style.

What other things do dating and the job hunting have in common?

Photo by » Zitona «.

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While most who read it could relate all too well, a few said it was depressing as it hit a little too close to home.

So instead of leaving readers with merely a description of the symptoms of performance punishment, I promised them and myself I would follow up with a prescription for the cure.

For help, I turned to the advice of my own career mentors, drew from the comments of readers who responded to my post as it appeared on WorkAwesome.com and the always steadfast, insightful crew of the Starship Enterprise.  Yes, I mean Captain Kirk, Bones and the crew from Star Trek (the original TV series)!

A professor I had in grad school convinced a class of over 100 students that we could learn something about management and leadership styles from the way the Enterprise was run and, well, let’s just say the lesson spoke to me!

While the content of that discussion’s a blog post for a different day, I couldn’t help but wonder…if Lt. Uhura and the boys could teach me something about leadership and team management, could they also teach me something about how to deal with Performance Punishment?

After some reflection, here’s what I came up with:

1. Be logical like Mr. Spock in assessing your situation.

Many times we get so stressed out and emotionally worn out by performance punishment we can’t be objective at evaluating what we can and can’t control to change the situation. Often the first step in curing this disease is to take a time out in the form of a day or two off to remove ourselves from the situation so we can examine it and our options more clearly.

Of course this would be a very simple thing to do if we all had green Vulcan blood in our veins. But as humans we must honor our emotions and find a positive way to deal with them so that our logical sides can balance our perspectives.

So the lesson from the ship’s first officer is simple, take a time out to work through your emotions and logically assess your options—you’ll likely find you have more than you realize!

2. Stay focused on what you know and turn your emotions into passion like Scotty. 

And speaking of emotions, the ship’s Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott was extremely passionate about his work. He literally knew the Enterprise better than anyone. He was also known to express his passion emotionally in times of crisis: “She’s going to blow, Captain!”

The thing about his outbursts was that while emotionally charged, they never became personal or took Scotty’s focus off addressing the issue at hand. He expressed them but his professional judgment was not ruled by them.

In dealing with his emotions, Lt. Scott found a way to express himself and keep the main thing the main thing.  He was great at passionately advocating and explaining the technical pros and cons of a situation to his management so that a solution that served the greater good could ultimately be found.

When attempting to break the performance punishment cycle, you must learn to do the same.

Admittedly, since most of us don’t have Spock’s mixed Human and Vulcan heritage, this is a very difficult thing to learn how to do.  However, if Scotty, arguably the most emotional of the Enterprise leadership team, could find a way to deal with his emotions at work by letting his technical expertise and experience be his guide, you can too.

So while I’m not suggesting that you shout “The copier’s going to jam up, Frank! We’ll never make it in time!” the next time your boss wants you to send 10 copies of that 75 page power point presentation to the copier 2 minutes before you plan to present it, the lesson here is to find a productive way to deal with how you feel about your situation, but let your technical skills and experience be your guide in finding a solution for improving it.

3. Learn to establish boundaries like Bones.

Part and parcel to curing any case of performance punishment is learning how to set healthy boundaries with your boss, your colleagues and yourself.  Dr. Leonard McCoy was the ship’s physician but also one of Captain Kirk’s “go to” guys — a role the cantankerous Doctor didn’t always enjoy. To let the Captain know where he stood on the issue, Bones uttered one of his more famous catch phrases on more than one occasion: “Dammit Jim, I’m a doctor not a {insert role beyond his skill set he was asked to play here}!”

And while I’m not suggesting that you quote Dr. McCoy verbatim (“Dammit Linda, I’m a software engineer not a magician!” might earn you a one way ticket to HR), the lesson here is simple: Know your limits and know when (and how) to say No!

4. Learn to listen and communicate clearly and confidently like Lt. Uhura.

Aside from gracing the bridge of the Enterprise with her class and poise, Uhura served as the ship’s Chief Communications Officer.

With her signature Starfleet standard-issue ear piece and communications console she listened, filtered and analyzed all of the ship’s messages—from distress signals to threats from the Klingons to undecipherable pulses to notices from Starfleet Command.

Her job was to sort through all the clutter and escalate those messages requiring the Captain’s attention.  She also served as the conduit through which the crew of the Enterprise communicated with the rest of the universe.  As the ship’s lead communications expert, she holds important clues for performance punishment sufferers. How so?

Performance punishment fosters in environments where communication breaks down. The worst thing you can do is crawl into your shell and suffer silently.

The trick to breaking the cycle is to break the silence and find a means of communicating clearly and confidently with your colleagues.

Start by finding a confidant, mentor or friend that you can talk to about how to approach your situation differently. Only pep talks and actionable advice are allowed—no pity parties!

You must also learn to listen more to what your boss is saying than how it’s being said. You must also learn to listen for cues about how best to communicate your position more effectively.

Do your colleagues prefer face-to-face meetings or email? Are they driven more by numbers or qualitative assessments? Do they respect or resent push back?

Once you clarify your position and understand how others want and need to hear from you, you’ll be better positioned to prevent performance punishment from creeping up on you and taking over.

5. Chart a new course and move full speed ahead like Mr. Sulu.

At the end of almost every episode, Captain Kirk issued the command, “Take us ahead Warp factor 2 Mr. Sulu.” Sulu then took control of the helm and did what needed to be done to move the ship out of one adventure and on into the next.

The lesson here is simply that sometimes having a good exit strategy and using it is the best remedy for performance punishment. If you can’t find a way to reset the paradigm that governs your situation, then leaving to find another job or start your own business may be the best way out.

Said another way, sometimes you have to go to grow.

If that’s the case take inspiration from Mr. Sulu, chief helmsman of the Enterprise. Map out a new path for yourself, then plan your work and work your plan to get to where you want and need to go.

6. Document your situation thoroughly and be brave like Captain Kirk. 

Although he was the ranking officer of the Enterprise, James Tiberious Kirk wasn’t the smartest or strongest person on the ship—that would be Mr. Spock.  Scotty knew the ship’s inner working better than Kirk did. Bones was older and wiser. And Uhura and Sulu could work the controls better than the Captain ever could. But Kirk was a great leader because he owned his shortcomings, stood by his team and surrounded himself with others who were strong in areas where he was weak.

He also did two things that can help cure performance punishment. First, he regularly took time to document his successes and reflect upon his journey and challenges in his Captain’s Log. Second, he bravely faced adversity and his fears head on.

If you’re afflicted by performance punishment, you too must learn to do the same.

Document your situation thoroughly—partly to cover yourself, partly to hold others accountable and partly to keep track of your successes.

Confirming conversations in emails and making notes in your electronic calendar are some of the ways to do this.

To help you rethink your situation, consider keeping a journal. It’s also a terrific way to facilitate self reflection—a critical step in getting your head straight so you can improve your perspective and your situation.

You must also learn to overcome fear. Fear can prevent you from seeing matters as they really are, trusting in your talents, pursuing your passion, establishing healthier boundaries, communicating clearly, recognizing you have options, and moving ahead with your professional life.

In other words, fear is the greatest obstacle you face when it comes to overcoming performance punishment!

To overcome both, be brave and address your challenges with the courage of Captain Kirk. And why not? If you’re like the Enterprise commander, you’ll be armed to do so with the logic of Spock, the resolve of Bones, the passion and know-how of Scotty, the clarity of Uhura, and the control of Sulu.

Together, the intrepid crew of the Enterprise explored new worlds and new civilizations.

Imagine how they can inspire you to break the performance punishment cycle so you can boldly go where you’ve never been before…Here’s to hoping you “live long and prosper”!

Photo by Wonderlane.

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Lifelong learners already know what’s going on in their field. They’re the ones who have subscriptions to professional journals, and they’re the ones who announce to the office the latest in technologies. Human Resources departments love them, and so they’re the ones who get the promotions.

Learning isn’t like riding a bicycle. Most people can do it, but those who are actively engaged in learning new ideas will be able to take on new challenges at work since they’re prepared to study and read up on it. If you haven’t read a book in ten years, don’t expect to be able to learn new ideas immediately.

Reading keeps your mind open, which is essential for training and moving up in a company. Showing complacence with your skill set isn’t what helps you get promoted.

Lifelong learners tend to love what they do, or they at least find some aspect of it to love. And they love the challenge, if nothing else. It’s the learners who are the innovators and the shakers.

Learn Your Passion

There is no great secret to lifelong learning. Start reading blogs from the top professionals in your field. Know what they think, and more importantly, know how they think. If you’re in public relations, subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog. Ask questions on Twitter, and look for responses from professionals. Become engaged in the conversation that is flowing around your field. Even if it’s as basic as data entry, you can start conversations on why it’s important to still have the human touch or maybe why it’s important to start training programs to do certain tasks.

You should also always follow the technological news. Technology affects everyone, no matter what your job title is. Knowing the latest software or the latest hardware will let you be the one who gives out the recommendations in the office. Many smaller companies don’t have anyone in charge of technological development. If you can become that person by default because you’re learning about them, you’re going to be in a good place for a promotion.

And Find a New One

What will get you even further than brushing up on your current career is learning a new skill. Don’t be afraid to take an online education course. Learning a new skill will help you diversify what you’re capable of, which can make you more attractive for open positions that are a blend of skills. Most jobs these days don’t require just one skill set, so it’s good to have a little flexibility on your résumé.

If you’ve been at the same company for some time and didn’t have computing classes in high school, you might want to consider taking an IT class or a web design course. You’ll want to tailor it to your interests and your job, but if you can find a class that wasn’t around when you were in college, take it. It’s going to keep you relevant and current in your job, and hopefully help you find a new one.

Lifelong learning isn’t a golden ticket to the CEO’s desk. But it is a way to make sure that your skill set matches your ambition. Going back to school or diving into learning a new skill is going to take time and dedication, but it’s well worth it.

How do you pursue lifelong learning?

Photo by Paolo Camera.

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In most cases, this isn’t the easiest decision, and once the decision is made, deciding how to break the news is no less than stressful. It’s very difficult to leave something you once loved behind, and then expect to suddenly feel confident and relaxed. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the heart breaker’s troubles do not stop at his/her love life—this nervous feeling unfortunately also occurs during a business break-up.

Quitting your job (whether it was an easy decision or not) is never fun. You are likely to leave for one of two reasons:

1. You got a better job offer and are hoping to further your career. You feel excited, but nervous about whether or not you’re making the right decision. What if your old company was better than your new company?

2. You can’t stand your boss or your co-workers and you dislike the job. In these situations, you can’t wait to get out of there. You feel excited, but nervous about what the future now holds. What if you can’t find another job with equal pay?

5 Must-Know Tips for Quitting Your Job

In both situations, leaving a job is bound to make you just as nervous as if you were leaving your boyfriend or girlfriend. Consider a few of these tips to help prepare you and give you confidence you’ll need when quitting a job:

Write Your Resignation Letter

This is the first thing you need to do if you’re quitting a job. A resignation letter is usually very short, and it does not need to specify exactly why you are leaving the company; just that you are. You will likely have a period of notice in the contract you signed when you first became an employee of the company, and this is something you must adhere to unless your boss says otherwise. Usually, a notice period is around two weeks.

Spread the Word

If you want to tell your co-workers you are leaving informally, this is usually accepted. However, it is never a good idea to tell a co-worker before you hand your boss the resignation letter. If rumors start to spread that you’re leaving and your boss gets wind, you will not look good in the eyes of your boss.

Continue Working

Many employees check-out once they’ve decided they’re going to quit their job. After all, what does it matter anymore? Believe it or not, this will matter a lot. Bosses admit that they pay special attention to the work an employee does after receiving a resignation letter. You will likely need your employer’s recommendation sometime in your future, so you want to do everything you can to stay in his/her good graces.

Get Feedback

This is a good note to end on when leaving a company. Chances are your boss will be happy to give you feedback about what you need to work on for your next company and what you do well. If you’re leaving because you do not get along with your boss, still consider asking for feedback. Although negative, it might help smooth things over.

Stay Positive

The important thing to remember is that you need to remain positive. You always want to leave on good terms because you never know whether or not your current company will be able to help you in the future. Believe it or not, some companies have been known to take back employees who quit in the past.

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With careful thought, quitting your job will likely open up your career to bigger and better things. The nervousness will last for a little while, but eventually you will move on, and you will be glad you did so while still staying “friends” with your company.

What steps would you follow before quitting a job? 

Photo by Neal.

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You already attach your resume to the emails you send to employers, but how else can you use it in your job search? Consider these five ways your resume can be working harder for you and your job search:

The Ultimate Introduction

When you meet someone new, it’s always easier to get the ball rolling if you have a friend there to say “Hi Joe, have you met Barack?” Just like that friend, your resume should be able to make that oh-so-valuable introduction for you.

Consider the different ways people learn about each other for the first time (*cough* the internet *cough*) and put your resume out there. If you have a personal website or are part of an industry-specific community, your resume needs to be on there. Optimize it by inserting hyperlinks and relevant keywords.

Interview Cheat Sheet

You wouldn’t go into a speech without reviewing your index cards, would you? Before your interview, pull out your trusty resume to refresh yourself on your own qualifications. Not only does this technique help you remember the most important points you should hit, but focusing on something like a resume is a great way to banish pre-interview butterflies.

Interviewers love using your resume as a cheat sheet, too. So bring in an extra copy (or three) to share with the interviewer.

ATS Code Breaker 

For those not in the “know”, ATS stands for “Applicant Tracking System”. In other words, this is the software that employers use to process applicants. While this is super convenient for the employer, it also means that your resume might never be read by human eyes.

Break the ATS code by using current search terms, using numbers liberally, and adopting the employer’s language. 

Social Media Profile

If you didn’t know already, just about half of all employers use social media to screen potential hires. That means, if you’re Tweeting, sharing, Tumbling, Stumbling, and whatever else without that in mind, you might be missing out!

Obviously, you don’t want to copy and paste your resume in the “about me” section of your social media profile, but use some of your resume’s elements in your profile so that you can better blend your personal life and professional life harmoniously.

Portfolio

Do you have a copy of your resume in your portfolio? You should. After all, what else is a better table of contents for your portfolio? Try organizing your work chronologically to show potential employers the evolution in your work.

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What do you think? Got more resume tips to share?

Photo by Robert S. Donovan.

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