The Seven Layers Of Your Personal Network

NOTE: This is a book excerpt with minor edits from You Know Everybody! A Career Girl’s Guide to Building a Network That Works by Marcy Twete. When it comes to your network, you have to strike a cool balance. To ensure you’re building the right kind of network, it is important to note that adding people to your network for reasons both substantive and shallow is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged. Why? Because your network, when strategically built, should also be well balanced. I’ve created the “Seven Layers of Your Personal Network” to help you evaluate your current network and determine where you might need to add a few people here and there. 1. The “Move A Body” Friend Brene Brown once said we should all have at least one friend who would, without hesitation, “help you move a body.” Now, let’s hope you never call anyone looking for a shovel. But if you did, ask yourself this: Who would you call? We sometimes forget to include these people in our network because their connection with is intensely personal and not professional. Big mistake! 2. Cheerleaders And Shoulders To Cry On Hopefully, you’ve collected quite a few people who rest in this second layer of your personal network. They’re the kind of friends you’d call if you went through a break-up, needed help moving across town, or wanted someone to look over a cover letter before you apply for a job. They’re the first people you’d call when you need a boost or had a bad day, and the easiest people in your life to show your true feelings to. 3. Cheers To You! This layer consists of people you’d invite to your birthday party at the hot new restaurant, the people you’d call when you’re in the mood for a Wednesday night happy hour, and generally fall more into the “friend” category than the “business connection” category. They’re an important part of your network because their relationship with you is largely personal, but they’re usually willing to act as a reference, connect you to someone they know at a company you might be interested in, and if they’re a social butterfly, even better! 4. Coffee Mates And Lunch Dates When you’re thinking about the kinds of people who reside in this layer, you’ll think about former co-workers you continue to keep in touch with, individuals you may have met at a professional luncheon or event, potential employers you’re networking with intentionally, and others you’d consider close to you, but in a professional capacity only. 5. Conjunction Connections Any child of the 1970s or 1980s will remember School House Rock. One of its most famous ditties went like this, “Conjunction junction, what’s your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses.” It’s exactly that reason that the fifth layer of your personal network is labeled “Conjunction Connections.” The people in this layer aren’t “hooking up words and phrases and clauses” but they are hooking up people and information and opportunities. They don’t know everybody, but the people they do know, they’re always linking to one another. 6. Stand Still, Look Pretty We don’t always want to admit it, but we all have these people in our networks. They’re, for lack of a better word, decorative. You’ve done work with them, and they tend to have a good name in their field, but you know and so does everyone else that they’re all talk, little substance. Why is this person valuable to your network? Because she knows everybody! Usually, these “Stand Still, Look Pretty” types are also pretty big gossips, and you don’t want to be on her bad side. 7. What’s Your Name Again? The seventh layer of your personal network is clear. You met someone, you took their business card, and maybe you even added them as a LinkedIn connection or followed them on Twitter. But the truth is, you would struggle to remember their name or their face if casually asked. If you wanted to get in touch with one of these connections, you’d begin your email by reminding her where you met or a little about yourself because you know that, for her, you’re likely a seventh layer connection as well. You’ve hopefully taken the time to both think through and list out a number of your connections in each of the seven layers of your personal network. Which layers are you heavy in and which have fewer connections? None of these results is good or bad. It simply helps you to see the current diversity of your network specifically related to their proximity to you and your ability to immediately connect with them on certain issues and needs.

Rebounding Retail Sector To Create New Jobs In Local Communities

Job creation is something that might have been unthinkable as recently as the beginning of this year, as the number of people out of work rose far beyond the two million mark. Fortunately, for many frustrated job seekers, a few green shoots are starting to appear in the form of new vacancies, as companies of different sizes seek to expand by recruiting in different parts of the country.

Amid signs that things are beginning to slowly pick up in the wider economy, a growing number of retail firms are feeling more confident about expansion both online and offline. Those with the resources to do so are opening new outlets, which in turn will mean more jobs. A mix of popular high street names and online specialists going into traditional retail are behind this growing trend.

Clicking Into Place

Among the firms hiring recently were supermarket giant Asda Wal-Mart and sandwich sellers Pret-a-Manger, who are to create 500 new jobs this year by opening a raft of new stores across the country. Both firms are already well established on the high street and in the out-of-town retail parks, but they’re not alone in opening new stores.

Many online retailers who started out exclusively in e-commerce have taken small steps towards expanding into offline sales. Oak Furniture Land, who started off selling online, has now become a permanent fixture in retail parks across the UK, creating hundreds of new jobs in their outlets. As luck would have it for many job seekers, they’re not alone.

Building Roots

Smaller online retailers are likely to test the water by opening one outlet, possibly in their local area. This is an ideal move for such companies, as they can prove that they want to be a big part of their local community, they can hire local people to work in their shop and might be able to attract attention from intrigued passers-by who might buy their product.

A prime example of how this can be done to good effect is that ofecigarettedirect.co.uk. They opened a store in a medium-sized town in South Wales earlier this year, a move that was applauded by the local community due to the scarcity of job opportunities in the area. They began selling their products online before moving into old-fashioned retail.

A Lesson From Neath

Following the store opening in Neath, which has apparently been a success for the firm, more could follow, which in turn will benefit more communities. This shows that, among other things, start-up firms could do well to start out online before they become confident enough to move onto the high street and sell their products face-to-face. Currently they have successfully managed to open four stores.

To succeed, businesses should consider operating both online and offline. Having this blend will ensure that they have all bases covered, while they’re also able to recruit more staff, thereby making themselves more visible and appearing a little more friendly than those who just sell via the internet. To try and ensure they can do it, caution is advised.

A Genie And A Road Map: How To Make Successful Decisions

Imagine taking a long trip in your car. You’re not totally sure where you’re going, but you’re thinking you can figure it out once you get on the road. Then, as you drive for a few hours you start wondering, “Maybe I’m not exactly sure where I’m headed.”

Unfortunately, there are no places to stop and ask for help. Eventually, you realize that you’re lost. Amazingly, at that very moment, a genie magically appears in the passenger seat next to you. He tells you to open your glove compartment, where you’ll find a road map with specific instructions, including the dates when you will get to each stop on your journey. The map is your assurance that you’ll get to your destinations on time.

As an astrologer, just like the genie, I’ll show you how to find your road map, plus use it to guide you to where you want to go. However, the way to get to where you want to go in life is by the decisions you make. I’ll show you how to make your decisions at a time when they will be most successful.

Your road map to making successful decisions is sitting in a file drawer in your home, a safety deposit box, or in the archives of the hospital where you were born. It is called your birth certificate, and it has your precise date, place, and time of birth. All you have to do is find it and I’ll show you how you can turn your birth information into a map that shows the major events of your life, and the best times to make those events successful. I’ll show you how to use astrology for decision-making.

The good news: You do NOT need to have prior knowledge of astrology. This book will explain everything you need to know to understand the changes you’re experiencing in your life, the decisions you may be required to make, and how to make them at the perfect time so they will be successful. The use of astrology is to reveal choices to you – not to make your choice for you. In that sense, as my brilliant astrology colleague Ray Merriman says: “It is a choice-revealer, not a choice-decider.”Your own free will can always be brought to bear on any situation you face in life. You are the master of your own destiny.

A Good Time & A Bad Time To Start A Job!

Suppose, for example, after interviewing for a new job – you receive an offer. Your new employer calls you on the telephone, giving you a choice of two potential starting dates. You can start your new job in July; a time when your astrological chart indicates is a bad one because you’ll work hard for little recognition and great frustration; or you can start in August, a positive date when your astrological chart says you will be successful, well received, and have opportunities for advancement. Assuming your new employer gave you these two choices, which date would you choose to start your new job?

Therein lies the practical value of using astrology for decision-making. It can give you the perfect time to make your decision a successful one that will benefit you. Of course, the choice is always yours. Yet, while career decisions are important, you can also use astrology for decision-making in many other areas of your life.

5 Resume Mistakes That Can Knock You Out Of The Running

Writing a resume isn’t as simple as it seems, especially if you’ve gone years without needing one, or had a lengthy executive career. In fact, this may come as a shock, but most people really don’t do themselves justice on paper.

Your resume has a challenging job to do in order to get you into an interview. Summarizing relevant skills, describing your work style, conveying your brand, and quickly making your point to employers isn’t easy for anyone – even a skilled writer or marketer!

Therefore, you’ll want to read through this list of common resume mistakes to see if you recognize any on your own resume. Then get to work on those revisions!

1. TMI

There isn’t any other way to put it: Do you really want to list your GPA from 15 years ago? Will employers care about your first two jobs out of college now that you’ve reached the executive suite? Does it matter you’ve consulted on the side in an unrelated field?

You’ll want to keep unrelated, potentially confusing information to yourself during a job search. Employers often look for a direct tie-in to specific requirements, and extra information can distort your message.

Dates can also work against you, especially if the year you graduated from college puts you close to retirement age.

Unfortunately, age bias is alive and well in the job market, so you’ll want to keep the degree, but lose the date – or risk losing out on an interview (and the opportunity to describe why you’re a perfect fit).

If you aren’t sure what to leave off your resume, consider this: if the information you add doesn’t contribute directly to your goal and show that you’re an ideal fit, then either leave it off your resume, or avoid calling undue attention to it.

2. Lack Of A Resume Strategy

If your resume merely announces your name, provides a summary with bland generalizations, and then swings right into a work history that doesn’t match your goal, you can count on being passed over for top jobs.

Resume strategy is the plan you’ll need to construct before even writing the first word, where you’ve thought about where and how to present critical information that is prioritized by its relative importance.

For example, if your most recent job isn’t the strongest in your history (perhaps as a step down from a more relevant role), pull in related achievements into another summary on the first page. Give it a title, such as “Sales Performance Contributions” or “Technical Career Highlights,” that ties into your job goal.

You can also list keywords in a section called “Value Offered in Marketing Leadership” or “Relevant Auditing Skills” (with the title related to the job you’re pursuing).

In other words, use a strategy that helps the reader quickly see your brand value, instead of expecting the employer to hunt through your resume to find it.

3. Missing Context

One of the most important tools in telling your story, situational context can make all the difference in your resume.

As an example, there’s a world of difference between a broker whose sales were number one  in the country prior to 2007, and one who has generated revenue despite a flagging economy.

Stating you “increased sales by $3 million” is impressive, but doesn’t click as much as noting that you dealt with four new competitors that entered the market that year.

Yet, many resumes skip over the context of achievements, leaving the reader to either miss key details or use their imaginations concerning the applicant’s professional career.

One solid strategy for pulling context into your resume is to use the C-A-R format, which stands for Challenge-Action-Result. The C-A-R method allows you to describe the situation (Challenge), as well as the steps you took to address it (the Action).

The Result is best described in terms of metrics, as figures capture the most attention from employers – allowing them to see the true impact of your work.

To write C-A-R stories for your resume, first make a list of your top 10 achievements from throughout your career. Next, flesh out each narrative by simply filling in the blanks for the Challenge, Action you took, and Results you attained.

Last, form each story into a bullet-style sentence that incorporates each element, as in these examples:

“Increased sales 23% by changing consultative strategy in response to distributor concerns, with personal, monthly meetings set up to address partner needs.”

“Controlled IT costs, creating $30K annual savings in network operations area, with new virtual networks and staff training that allowed for 15% drop in dedicated support hours.”

4. Misalignment With Your Digital Identity

Even if you carefully construct your resume based on a strong message of value to your next employer, they’ll be hunting down your LinkedIn Profile and other digital proof of your credentials as soon as they receive it!

If your social media presence is out of alignment with your resume, this can create confusion, and in the case of more-revealing online information (such as dates that reveal your age), cast you out of consideration.

If you’ve held numerous jobs and find it difficult to ensure that your resume and LinkedIn Profile correlate to each other, print out both documents and review them side-by-side.

Then, ensure your LinkedIn corrections are complete before using your resume.

5. Failure To Proofread

You might think that your spellchecker (and eyes) work just fine. However, consider the difference between those “external vendors” you mentioned, versus those “eternal” parties you directed.

And how about the “manger” (rather than the “manager”) who directed your efforts? Enough said.

One trick that works even for professional writers is to read your document backwards, word by word, all the way from the end to the beginning. You’ll be surprised at what you can find – and grateful to catch it before an employer does.

As you can see from this list, effective resume writing is no longer an option in today’s competitive job market. You’ll need to make every effort to stand out by avoiding these errors.

Now that you’ve learned more about the potential  pitfalls of writing your resume, you’ll be better able to spot problems before they hinder your job search.

4 Interview Prep Tips You Can’t Afford To Skip

An interview can be extremely nerve-racking. Why? Because you’re simply being judged. The fate of your future relies on how you come across to an employer/interviewee.

You may have spent months on your job search to get an interview so it’s important you don’t mess up by not preparing enough.

There are so many interview prep tips out there; let’s cover the most important four.

1 – Being Nervous Is Good, But Being Too Nervous Isn’t

You need to relax as much as possible (easier said than done) and take a confident approach, being a nervous wreck doesn’t show the interviewee your true personality.

On the other hand, there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance so be careful, think what you’re saying and don’t be too be too confident as its irritating and cocky. Try and answer questions honestly and be yourself (you’ll hear that a lot), don’t be too robotic.

2 – You Need To Prepare For Those Questions That Always Come Up

For example, why do you want the job? Why are you a suitable candidate for this vacancy? What are your strengths/weaknesses? What skills do you have that correspond with this vacancy? The day before the interview, get the pen and pad out and thoroughly prepare answers to these questions.

It’s also vital you know your CV inside out, you should be able to discuss everything that appears on it in detail. Ideally you should know it off by heart and be able to go through it without even having it in front of you. This portrays sharpness, honesty, and professionalism to the interviewer.

3 – Do Some Background Research On The Company

Common interview questions employers like to ask are, “What do you know about the company?” or, “What do you know about this particular role?” Having a good background on the company lets them know how enthusiastic you are and how keen you are to get the placement.

Being able to talk about your knowledge of the company and the role in particular will impress the interviewee and could give you competitive edge over other applicants. Ideally you should have knowledge on the company’s history, all aspects of the role, problems encountered with the role, etc.

4 – Lastly, Your Manners Are Essential

Greet with a smile and a firm hand shake, sit down when you’re told to, don’t slouch, speak directly and clearly, make eye contact, but not too much eye contact, thank the interviewee for the opportunity, even if you feel the interview went bad, and be sure to share a few jokes as a sense of humor is essential to your likeability factor.

As obvious as these tips are, they are also the most commonly forgotten. Remind yourself of these before every interview, or you could risk ruining the opportunity to land the job!

Reason To Attend A Networking Event (Even If You Don’t Know Anyone)

Attending a networking event where you don’t know anyone can rank right up there with a root canal, but it doesn’t have to painful, or even uncomfortable, if you know how to manage the situation.

Be Prepared

One of the best ways to prepare for a networking event is to find out as much information as possible. Where is the event being held? Who will be in attendance? What’s the dress code? Try to obtain any other details the organizers might be able to provide. You want to make sure you’re confident when you arrive, so being prepared helps assuage those last minute anxieties.

In some cases, you can find out the type of people who will be in attendance. For example, if you’re going to a networking event sponsored by a trade group or association, you can probably get a list of their member organizations who may be attending the event. Do a little research on the companies that may be of interest to you. When you meet people from those companies, they’ll be impressed you know a little about their organizations.

Take Business Cards And Resumes

If you’re looking for a new job and/or currently unemployed, consider having business cards made with your contact information, as well as information on the job you’re seeking. You can order some very inexpensive, but professional looking, cards from several online printing services. It also helps to have some copies of your resume on hand in case someone asks.

Treat The Event As If It’s A Series Of Several Mini-Interviews

Attending networking events may or may not lead to an immediate job offer, but byexpanding your network, you’ll be exposed to more opportunities in the future.

Stand Near The Entrance Door To The Event

While it may sound silly, standing near the entrance gives you access to new people who are just arriving. Other people are also nervous when they first go into a room of people they don’t know. A friendly smile goes a long way and it might be all you need to start a conversation with someone. Another added benefit is people have a greater tendency to remember the first and last people they meet.

Have A Goal

If you plan to attend a networking event for one hour, try to make three to five solid contacts. The conversation is not always going to be stellar with every person you meet. Know when to say “it was nice meeting you” and move on. If you become glued to the first person you started talking to, the event won’t be as successful for you as it could be.

Enjoy The Experience

Networking events may put you out of your normal comfort zone, but they can be very beneficial. By attending solo, you’re forced to meet new people. You never know who’s going to be there. There might be business owners, recruiters, or other people that can help you with your current career path or be resources for you in the future.

5 Quick Tips For Your Social Media Strategy

Now that you have reviewed the top social media and social network options, decide which ones are best for you. You may feel, based on the practical applications, LinkedIn and YouTube would be the best suited for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for a new position, you may want to use LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Make your decisions and move forward. You can always add another network later, should you choose.

Posting Frequency

Wondering how often you should post on each social network? While it varies by user and purpose, I would recommend the following to start off. Then adjust according to the amount of responses, comments, and clicks you receive.

• LinkedIn – One time every one or two days, or link to your Twitter account if your Twitter postings would be appropriate for the strictly professional network.
• Facebook – For your profile page, one to three times per day. If you have a business page or group, once every other day for those.
• Twitter – Four to six times per day.
• Blog – One to two times per week.

Stay Productive

I’ll be the first to admit, falling into a social media black hole is something we all do. I’ve had more than my share of days when I’ve started off uber-productive only to find three hours have passed, and all I have to show for it is a gazillion interactions with Facebook friends, and many laughs. Want to become productive on social media? Here are my recommendations:

1. Make A Plan

Understand exactly who you would like to reach (your target markets) and design your brand in a way that will be attractive to this group. Do not simply post what you want people to read, post what they want to read. Make a conscious decision to post information that appeals to your target markets vs. what you want them to want.

2. Sign Up For Google Alerts And Visit Alltop

Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) will send you emails about specific topics you would like to post about. Simply type in the search words and set a new alert. Alltop (www.alltop.com) has hundreds of categories to choose from. Simply click on the link for your topic to instantly see top blog posts and articles you can share via social media.

3. Create A Posting Calendar

Use a blank calendar. Decide what you’re going to post on social media each day, and then fill in your calendar with your choices. Consider holidays, upcoming events, and other items that might influence your posting. You can also include your blog, if you’d like. Do this at least a month ahead of time.

4. Sign Up For Hootsuite

Hootsuite will allow you to update your social networks from one place. Additionally, you can schedule future posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

5. Buy A Kitchen Timer

Decide exactly how much time you will commit to social media each day. I suggest 10-20 minutes in the AM and maybe 10 in the PM. At whatever time allotted each day, set your egg timer for the correct amount of time. Then use that time to post, moderate, comment on others’ posts, photos, and so on.