On Wednesdays at 1pm EST, J.T. will work with all executive members who want to improve their content creation abilities. Come to the session prepared to discuss topics, strategies, and angles to help increase your executive presence online by creating authority via content.
J.T. O'Donnell has been in the development, HR, employment and job search industry for 18+ years.
She founded Work It Daily to disrupt the industry and bring career coaching and professional support to professionals of all professions and skill levels. She wanted to make access to professional growth affordable to everyone, not just the elite.
Having written articles for such publications as LinkedIn, INC magazine, Forbes, The New York Times and Hearst, she is an authority in her space and one of the best in the business.
Are you terrified of screwing up a job interview? Does the thought of writing a cover letter horrify you? Are you scared to network with others? What do you even say, anyway? If you're struggling to overcome your job search fears, this live event is for you.
We get it. Looking for work can be scary, especially if you’ve been at it for a long time and haven’t gotten any results.
Understanding which fears are getting in the way and how to overcome them will make all the difference. Sometimes you might not be aware of which obstacle is getting in the way of your goals. If you want to overcome these fears once and for all, we invite you to join us!
In this training, you’ll learn how to:
Utilize strategies for coping with your job search fears
Be confident in your job search—from writing your resume to networking
Face your fears and move forward
Join our CEO, J.T. O'Donnell, and Director of Training Development & Coaching, Christina Burgio, for this live event on Wednesday, October 5th at 12 pm ET.
CAN'T ATTEND LIVE? That's okay. You'll have access to the recording and the workbook after the session!
Which one describes your morning more accurately?
a) Waking up excited to head into work and do what you love.
b) Waking up dreading work and seriously considering calling in sick.
If the second scenario sounds more like you, it's time for a change, don't you think? Here are five tips for reclaiming your career and finally finding career happiness:
1. Figure Out What's Causing The Problem
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What is it that you hate about your job? Why do you dread going to work? Is it the work itself or the people you work with? Is it a specific task or a specific individual that is making your life miserable?
Once you determine the cause of the stress/misery, you can take steps to fix or eliminate the problem. Maybe there's more than one problem. That's okay. The key is to identify where the real pain points are in your career. Only then can you make the changes you need to make to ultimately find career success.
2. Manage Up
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I'm sure you've heard this term before, but what does it really mean to "manage up" anyway? Well, it means that you need to step it up a little bit with your work and go above and beyond what you're being asked to do.
Managing up will help others recognize your value within the organization, making you an asset. By going the extra mile with your work, you take stress off your manager or boss, which can help you build a better working relationship with him/her.
Remember: your job is to make your boss's job easier. If you're not doing that, you're not doing your job—and you're not showing your value as an employee.
Your career is yours and yours only. Reclaim it by giving 110% in all aspects of your professional life. When you start making progress, you'll realize the secret to career growth and happiness starts with intrinsic motivation.
3. Attend Workshops & Seminars
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Find some local workshops and seminars that will help you enhance and develop your skills. By attending these events, you'll not only learn new, valuable skills, but you will prove that you are willing to take that extra step in order to get ahead.
Figure out what areas you think you should improve in. Do you need better time management skills? Would it help you to learn the HTML basics? Maybe you just want to brush up on your business writing or public speaking skills.
Whatever your interest, there are workshops and seminars for everything! Attend one and see how much it impacts your confidence and happiness as a professional.
4. Find A Mentor
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It's always nice to have a little extra guidance and support. Find someone who has extensive experience in your field and ask them if they would mind being your mentor. They can provide valuable insight and contacts that will help you get ahead.
Never underestimate the power of a mentor. Building a close, professional relationship with someone you admire can do wonders for your career. If you already have a colleague in mind, what are you waiting for? Reach out today!
5. Get Out There & Meet The Right People
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If you really want to take control of your career, you need the right people in your corner. Are you going out there and meeting the right people? Like it or not, your network is your net worth. Although networking with people outside of your industry has its benefits, it's important to have a focused networking strategy that builds a solid network of contacts.
There are several ways to connect with the right contacts. Here are a few:
Attend industry-specific events (They don't have to be networking events!)
Join industry-specific organizations and clubs
Use keywords and hashtags to find potential contacts on Twitter and LinkedIn
We all have highs and lows in life. The same is true for our careers. If you're feeling unhappy in your career, you have the power to change that. Every hurdle you face, you can overcome.
Follow the tips above and you'll not only reclaim your career but find career happiness as well. We believe in you!
The workplace looks a lot different today than it did a couple of years ago. With the rise of remote work, many companies have permanently adopted a hybrid work model. This change has impacted employees and management alike. But in order for companies to stay competitive and build on their successes, their executives must develop the skills necessary to lead in today's hybrid workplace.
We recently asked our successful executives what skills they think leaders need to succeed in today's hybrid workplace.
Here are their responses...
Melodie Turk, Learning Experience Executive
Every executive in a hybrid workplace needs a good time management formula.
You need to be able to spend time on your actual deliverables, you need to spend time with your direct reports—not only directing work, but in personal development—you need to spend time with your department or organization, and you need to spend time in strategic planning. This list could continue but plotting out the hours for each time description adds up really quickly, such as 15 hours for deliverables, 5 hours for direct reports, 10 hours for organization, and 3 hours for strategic planning. Now, you only have 7 hours left for ad hoc meetings, innovation, your own development, putting out fires, etc.
Knowing that you need to be more intentional with your time is key. Intentional plotting out your time on your calendar (and sticking to it) is critical. Having others understand your time priorities is essential.
Melodie Turk is a learning experience executive with a unique background in the learning and development arena as well as change management. She is passionate about bringing change to the workplace—change that is meaningful and change that will last.
Lisa Perry, Global Marketing Executive
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We’ve seen more changes in the workplace over the last two years than in the previous two decades. In these two years, we’ve learned quite a bit about working remotely including how to enhance leadership skills in this new work environment.
Here are five skills executives need to succeed in today’s hybrid workplace:
1. Communication: Executives need to be great communicators from increased listening skills, more in-depth and personal conversations, focusing on written communication, to enabling informal interactions.
2. Trust: Trust is even more important in today’s hybrid work environment. With less managerial oversight, organizations are empowering employees to do their work. Conversely, employees have had to be confident that work is being assigned fairly.
3. Accountability: Without being able to see people to generate an understanding of their productivity and performance, executives need to hold employees accountable for their outcomes and results.
4. Flexibility: The people who will thrive in a hybrid workplace will not only be flexible. They’ll be agile to adapt to changing circumstances, be creative problem solvers, and have a degree of open-mindedness.
5. Virtual Innovation: A study of Microsoft employees shows how remote work puts productivity and innovation at risk. To drive innovation in a hybrid work environment, have open communication and encourage working sessions.
Lisa Perry helps companies build leadership brands, driving loyal customers & delivering profitability. She does this through a process that builds brands consumers love. Her goal is to help companies develop, monetize, and grow their brands.
Dr. Hannah Hartwell, Learning & Development Executive
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The most successful executives who are managing well in today’s hybrid work environment provide clear and consistent expectations. Having clear expectations has always been important, but now even more so. Clear expectations also involve having crucial and vulnerable conversations about any other factors that could impact work. We have all gone through this pandemic together, but people experienced it differently based on their own situations. It’s important to recognize and acknowledge the differences. Have those conversations with your team and ask how you, as the executive, can provide more direction or support.
One of my mentees recently asked me how she can better advocate for herself at work. I asked some probing questions, and her concerns were about expectations. She felt inspired to have a vulnerable conversation with her manager and enthusiastically shared that she knew exactly what was expected of her moving forward. As executives, it’s important for us to open our hybrid office door to facilitate those conversations.
Dr. Hannah Hartwell is a learning and development executive and change management practitioner with 15+ years of business transformation experience in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, higher education, and professional services industries.
Percy Leon, Digital Media Content Executive
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Here are some of the most important skills executives need to succeed in today's business world:
1. Communication: The ability to manage remote teams effectively. It's crucial for executives to know how to manage a virtual team.
2. Leadership: The ability to lead change. Executives need to be able to lead their teams through times of change, whether it's a change in the company's direction or a change in the market.
3. Set Boundaries: Make sure they separate work and personal time. Sometimes this can be a challenge if executives also play at the same space they work at.
4. Creativity: The ability to come up with new and innovative ideas. This includes thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions to problems and also building their brands.
Percy Leon is a digital media content producer specializing in educational technology and entertainment. He is interested in web3, metaverse, and the use of virtual reality for storytelling.
Andrea Markowski, Marketing Executive
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In a hybrid environment, there is one thing that is often overlooked: equity.
Imagine: Your team is split, and half you see regularly in person while half are 100% remote. It could be quite easy for you to “forget” the remote folks because, as they say, out of sight, out of mind.
What this means is potentially giving the juicy projects and even more job advancements to team members that you interact with in person, while those who you never see get left out.
Or, those who are in the office more often might have access to more resources, equipment, and even social opportunities than those who work remotely, giving them an advantage.
Managers should make a deliberate effort to be equitable and fair with opportunities in hybrid environments. Greater visibility does not mean that someone is more productive or a higher performer. Be aware of any biased opinions you may hold due to informal, in-person networking.
Andrea Markowski is a marketing director with specializations in strategy development, digital tactics, design thinking, and creative direction. She has superpowers in presentations and public speaking.
What skills do you think executives need to succeed in today's hybrid workplace? Join the conversation inside Work It Daily's Executive Program.