Take Our Quiz
Pricing

First Impressions: You’ve Got 30 Seconds To Make The Right One

Justin Timberlake’s sense of urgency is clear. He’s only got four minutes to save the world. In your job search, you won’t be that lucky. First impressions are formed in less than 30 seconds. Related: 5 Tips For Making The Best Impression In An Interview Psychology Today says we process small clues, everything from tone of voice to posture, and in a snap we form a larger picture in our minds. This means that hiring managers may draw conclusions, and finalize their opinions, in under a minute. One study found that people shown 20 second video segments of job applicants formed similar opinions to hiring managers who were given 20 full minutes with the applicants. Now, that’s a snap decision.

SHOW MORE Show less

5 Tips For Dealing With A Hot-Head Boss

It can be tough dealing with a hot-head boss. But how can you handle his or her hot temper and keep your cool at the same time? Related: 7 Things Your Boss Won’t Tell You If you missed quasi-celebrity and full-fledged entrepreneur boss Patti Stanger berating her stylist, then you don’t watch enough reality TV. And, you missed a great learning moment.

SHOW MORE Show less

How To Interview A Potential Employer

You’ve read the job description, but the interview is the time to read between the lines. Find out as much as you can about the company you may work for before you take the job. It could save you time and frustration down the line. Related: Top 3 Interview Questions You Should Ask We all know to have questions prepared when we head into an interview. It makes us look interested and on the ball. But the list of questions you ask a potential employer should be as much about you interviewing them, as them interviewing you.

SHOW MORE Show less

Brand Yourself Successful: Managing The Brand You

Most of us have no problem determining how to market our companies or our products. Thinking of ourselves as a brand, however, takes a little mental adjustment. But it can be a smart way to manage a career. Find out how to brand yourself successful with the following steps: The first step is to stop thinking of yourself as an employee and start thinking of yourself as a company. Consider this:

SHOW MORE Show less

Are You Relying on Outdated Career Advice? (Live Q&A)

On his blog, Seth Godin talked about outdated career advice. Advice geared towards getting a job in a Fortune 500 company. The same advice that’s been circulating for decades and geared toward the same companies responsible for a net loss of jobs over the last twenty years. The job market is changing. Not only are Fortune 500 companies no longer creating jobs, the standards they use to hire and to promote are no longer relevant in the current job market. LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman and entrepreneur Ben Casnocha believe the key to thriving in this new market is to stop relying on outdated career advice and to start treating your career the same way entrepreneurs treat their young businesses. To succeed today, they believe you need to treat your career like a start-up.

SHOW MORE Show less

Kathy Ver Eecke

Name: Kathy Ver Eecke Twitter: @workingforwonka Personal Website/Blog: www.workingforwonka.com Bio: Kathy Ver Eecke has made her career working as the right hand (wo)man to one of the quirkiest classes of bosses; the entrepreneur boss. She has worked for a boss who was regularly shot at when leaving the office and a boss who regularly forgot his shoes. She worked for a boss who threw office furniture, and for a boss whose office furniture was repossessed. And that was just a typical Tuesday. As a writer and speaker Kathy now shares advice how to survive “unique” bosses. What's your favorite career related quote? “A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.” (Charles Schwabb) What’s your favorite part about being a CAREEREALISM-Approved Career Expert? I’m excited to be a part of the CAREEREALISM team and to share some of tips and tools I have learned over the last two decades. Tools that hopefully will help the CAREEREALISM community find ways to advance their careers without loosing their minds! Articles written by this expert: 5 Tips for Dealing with a Hot-head Boss The Attitude of Success: It’s All in Your Head Brand Yourself Successful: Managing the Brand You Turning the Tables: How to Interview a Potential Employer First Impressions: You’ve Got 30 Seconds to Make the Right One ‘Horrible Bosses’ – 5 Tools for Coping that Don’t Involve a Contract Killer What Managers Really Think About Your Resume Are You Relying on Outdated Career Advice?

What Managers Really Think About Your Resume

“Blah, blah, blah.” Yup, the CEO of a very successful company said exactly that about resumes, “Blah, blah, blah.” He even made the talking hand motions as he said it. A resume, is a resume, is a resume. To get a job today, you have to stand out in the crowd and coming up with the best derivative of the verb “managed” is not the way to do it. Chuck Dietrich, CEO of SlideRocket, explained this during his interview for Three to Get Ready; a video series where entrepreneur give their top three tips for getting, keeping or knowing when to leave a job with a start-up. Chuck is not alone in his belief that to get a job today, you have to reinvent the way you apply. In particular if you’re applying to a start-up. (And, in case you’re not watching the news these day, that’s where the jobs are!) Michael Brooks, the 24-year old CTO and founder of LifeKraze says he can fly through 500 resumes in under 30 minutes. “It’s not about the resume,” he explains. “A lot of kids get led down the wrong path of building this perfect resume, and using these sample formats and it’s really not about that.” Michael says if you want to work for someone, you need to show them how much you like their product or company and how you can make a difference. It shows the business owner that you want to work for them, versus being yet another person just looking for a paycheck. Both of these entrepreneurs have been blown away by creative approaches some applicants (most now new hires!) have used to grab their attention. For Dietrich, it was Hanna Phan an eager job seeker that tweeted him a link to a "présumé" that used Dietrich’s own software. (presume = resume presentation). Note Dietrich is the CEO of a large company, not the person that Hanna would report to, but she went straight to the top with a tweet that simply said:
@chuckdietrich @sliderocket I want to work with you! Find my application here: http://portal.sliderocket.com/AIWCI/Iwanttoworkatsliderocket
In less than an hour Dietrich had responded:
@hannaphan @sliderocket AMAZING Preso! Let’s talk.
Hanna got the job. For Brooks, one of his now key employees sent his information storybook style with alternate endings based on where the reader wanted to go. “By the time I was done with the resume I knew this kid was special. He had something to offer this company that most people don’t,” Brook explains. He says getting your foot in the door is the hardest step, so you need to be creative to get there. So does this mean you don’t need a resume at all? No. In most cases you need some record or back story that shows what you’ve done. The message here is the resume itself is not your ticket to ride. Your personality, your gumption and your creativity are what will turn the heads of business owners. So if you’re ready to get creative, you might want to reach out to both of these entrepreneurs, because both companies are hiring now! For more tips from entrepreneurs, or to find out more about jobs with these two companies, check out the Three to Get Ready video series on WorkingForWonka. Kathy Ver Eecke, founder of Working for Wonka, is a former marketing executive who now works as a writer and speaker on the topic of surviving the start-up environment and working for an entrepreneur. Photo credit: Rido/Shutterstock.com

The Attitude of Success: It’s All in Your Head

Projecting an attitude of success can start with simply working on your body language. With a strong posture and a solid handshake you are well on your way to exuding confidence. But to complete the picture, to truly project an attitude of success, the real work may need to be done in your head. Some say simply believing you are successful will make you successful. Sounds crazy, right? But that’s the premise of the law of attraction. Same with the recent phenomena, The Secret. For the more scientific minded, we can reference the placebo affect. Patients told they are being given a curing medicine actually get better despite the fact what they are given is only a sugar pill. Bottom line, the brain is the most powerful organ in the body. And how we harness that power has a bearing on the image we project, and ultimately on our success. Skip the Yips Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A man becomes what he thinks about.” To project success you need to first quiet the negative voice inside your own head. These self-limiting beliefs can be our biggest enemy when it comes to being successful. Former professional golfer Tommy Armour coined the term “yips” to describe when athletes are so caught up in their own heads they, inexplicably, can no longer perform routine parts of their game. A relatively simple putt, for instance, or an All-Star pitcher who suddenly cannot get the ball over home plate. Although science is still studying possible neurological causes for to the “yips,” it is widely believed the main cause is psychological. To project an attitude of success, stay clear of the negative and focus on the positive. Be Half Full Studies have shown a casual link between optimistic attitudes and good health. Being optimistic can do more than extend our lives however; it can also improve our success rate in business. Sales guru Zig Ziglar says attitude is a defining factor in a person’s ability to succeed. He quotes a Harvard University study found when it comes to job offers and promotions, decisions are based only 15 percent on the candidates actual technical knowledge or skill. Eighty-five percent of the decision to hire or promote an employee is based on the individual’s attitude. View your glass as half full and you’ve won more than half the battle. Be a Copycat Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Decide what success looks like to you, and learn to imitate it. Everyone’s version will be different. If, to you, success means moving up the corporate ladder, then know what it looks like on the top rung. If success means simply getting through each crazy day in an organized and stress-free fashion, then envision that day. Keep the image of success in your head and do everything possible to look like it, behave like it, and most importantly believe that you can accomplish it. When it comes to projecting an attitude for success, children’s character Bob the Builder may be the best role model. “Can we do it?” he asks his audience each day. Without questioning the details, doubting their abilities or hesitating for one moment, his audience’s answer is always the same. “Yes we can!” You go, Bob. [Reprinted from OfficeArrow] [This article was originally posted on an earlier date] Kathy Ver Eecke, founder of Working for Wonka, is a former marketing executive who now works as a writer and speaker on the topic of surviving the start-up environment and working for an entrepreneur. Read more » articles by this approved career expert | Click here » if you’re a career expert Photo credit: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com