If you didn’t watch the VMAs (Video Music Awards) last weekend, then you missed an important career coaching session from Lady Gaga. It doesn’t matter what you think of the controversial artist who has risen to mega-stardom in the last few years. The fact is, she can teach you a thing or two (or three!) about career development – and she sure does make a splash doing it!
Dress Like a Man = Delivering the Unexpected
In her opening performance (and throughout the entire show), Lady Gaga was dressed as a man. Up until now, you could guarantee she would wear something outrageous. Thus, the pressure was on for her to keep up the trend. And she did it, by doing the unexpected – being the complete opposite of herself. Now, am I suggesting you all do the same? Of course not! But, the concept of recognizing the need to get people’s attention if you want them to listen to you should not be lost here.
You can use this principal to step back and contemplate what you are currently doing to get eyeballs and ear canals on you. Ask yourself the following, "If you are working, what are you doing to make your boss and co-workers pay attention to you?If you are between jobs, what kind of impression are you making when you network?" While you don’t have to dress crazy or act outlandish, you do need to seriously evaluate how you can take each interaction up a notch and make yourself more memorable.
Lady Gaga Career Takeaway #1: It’s your job to get people’s attention.Stand for Something & Don’t Be Shy About It
It’s no secret Lady Gaga is all about self-expression and equality. She did an entire tour around the world about bringing together people who feel like misfits or social outcasts. She is an artist who loves to perform using this theme. Her personal brand is clear because she has made it easy to understand what she believes in. In the opening of the VMAs, Lady Gaga did a monologue. And of course, it was about this very subject. She sticks with her theme and continues to educate people on it. This is personal branding at its best – and probably the single biggest mistake the average professional is making. If you don’t stand for something in your work, you don’t have the ability to position yourself as an expert. You have no real reason to stand up and make statements and take actions that will define you as someone to pay attention to. So, as scary as it may seem to articulate your beliefs (especially, knowing some will agree and some won’t), it must be done if you want to move forward in your career. Staying "under the radar" by being adaptable, flexible and having no voice is the fastest way to a dead-end career.
Lady Gaga Career Takeaway #2: Build your professional platform on a set of beliefs you can talk about constantly.Want to Be Likable? Gush Over Your Peers
No matter how much you may dislike Lady Gaga’s music or persona, you really can’t hate a person who has such admiration and respect for her peers as she does. Given her current stardom, it would be easy to see her take on a better-than mentality, but she truly loves other artists and pays them public compliments incessantly. At the VMAs she got to give a fellow female icon, Brittney Spears a lifetime achievement award. It was clear she loved doing it as she showered Brittney with praise for what she had given the entertainment industry. I don’t care who you are, one of the fastest ways to get people to like you is to hear you pay someone else a compliment. When you have the confidence and presence of mind to recognize others for their hard work, you say a lot about your character and professionalism.
Lady Gaga Career Takeaway #3: Complimenting others improves your professional credibility. Lady Gaga Proves the Following
The one thing you can say about Lady Gaga is she proves we can all build a powerful personal brand on our own terms – and earn respect for it too. Using the tips above, Lady Gaga has turned her talents, tenacity and good timing into one of the most recognizable personal brands in the world. So, love her or hate her, the reality is, as a career coach she can teach us all a few things about career development.
Now, Let’s Put Gaga’s Approach into Practice
If you're one of our CareerHMO.com members, this is a simple reminder you already have your very own group of talent agents (a.k.a. career coaches) to help you define and promote your personal brand. We know it can be hard to figure this out on your own. Even the mega-stars have entourages of people helping them, right? That’s why you should continue to work with us to ensure you are sending the right message.
J.T. O’Donnell is the founder of CAREEREALISM.com and CEO of CareerHMO.com, a web-based career development company.Image from s_bukley/Shutterstock
Bigstock
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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