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Archive for Career Coaching

Positive Self-Talk Can Increase Women’s Career and Personal Achievement

February 17th, 2021

The article link below discusses the “labeling” women often use to describe themselves. I commented on the article on LinkedIn, and thought you might find the content useful.

“I believe this is a real issue for women. From “I am just a stay at home mom,” to stating “I am just” and inserting a job title, there is a lot of minimization of value and skill. Ladies, you are never “just” anything, and we must encourage our fellow female friends, colleagues and clients to embrace their talents, education/training, and most importantly, value to the world! Take the word “just” and other limiting words out of your self-description vocabulary. Do the same when describing others – build yourself and others up and watch your world blossom into something amazing!” #coaching #personalbranding #success #leadership, #motivation #personaldevelopment #inspiration #mindset #careers #womenbusinessowners 

Article link:  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/view-the-mist/201604/caution-using-self-labels-can-be-hazardous-your-health

Categories Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Career Management, Job Search
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Time Chunking for Time Management Success

January 17th, 2021
Time Management and Time Chunking

I recently commented on the article link below shared on LinkedIn, and thought I would share those comments on my blog:

“I call this “time chunking” with my clients, and use the technique myself in my personal life and business. It is great for decreasing project/task overwhelm and helping clients see immediate success. When you get something done without distractions, even in short spurts of time, the feelings of satisfaction will typically spur you on to another “time chunk” and ultimately, completion of the project or task. Take things in chunks of time – 10-30 minutes, and see your To-Do list shrink!”

https://www.success.com/7-shortcuts-to-work-smarter-not-harder/

Categories Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Job Search
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The New Candidate Profiles and Their Impact on Your Job Search or Business

November 24th, 2020

How many times have you heard the statement to be careful what you post online? Well, it turns out that companies are exploiting information they can access in the public domain about job candidates, including those posts you wish you had never made. Whether full-time, part-time, contract or temporary worker, a company may wish to know just as much about an entrepreneur contracting with them for a month, as they do about a full-time employee.  While there’s a bevy of software available to scan resumes for keywords, more-and-more, organizations are seeking to create a full-fledged profile on their candidates. Is it creepy and Big Brother-esque? Yes, but an unfortunate reality the Internet has facilitated.

What information are they targeting? Old and new resumes, blogs, and social media profiles, including those posts you so often believe are private (they aren’t), certifications, licensing, professional development, academic histories and degrees, military service, awards, presentations, and papers, just to name a few.

While this offers a broader perspective on a potential new hire, the profile they develop on you can be polar opposite of what you are attempting to convey on your resume and in the interview. Hence, why what you post matters, and why those old YouTube videos of you, particularly the live videos that tend to be less than flattering, need to go. From throwing your computer out the window during a temper tantrum, doing live makeup applications with friends in high school and college, and nearly crippling yourself doing wild skateboard jumps, to smoking pot on camera, all can eliminate you from consideration for a job.  Any job! Not to mention get you featured on the show Ridiculousness. Certainly, you may have been intending to garner this attention at the time – but let it go for the sake of your career!

Ask yourself: should the company believe your resume and interview, or the comprehensive profile they developed containing contradictory information? Make them ask that question and we can guess what will happen. Ultimately, I see this technology impacting any aspect of a career, from job search to promotion, entrepreneurs, and for college admissions.

So, what can we do to stop past poor decisions from haunting us? My advice to clients is to go through their social media and to Google themselves to see what else comes up that they have forgotten about over time. First up – scrape all social media, videos, and blogs and get rid of nasty comments (particularly you fighting with others online, and political and religious insults and articles). Be sure to go back to the beginning and clean up your posts. This isn’t about stating you love a particular political candidate or God, but the negative comments and articles that cause issue. Why should a company hire someone they believe will come and start political arguments or push religion or non-religion on others? Trust me, they won’t! 

Next, get rid of excessive cussing in posts, videos, and blogs, look through your pictures and delete most of those with you drinking alcohol (a little bit is okay, but some people are way too “thirsty” in all their pictures) and definitely all of them where you are doing drugs – I shouldn’t have to say why. The fights you get into on social media with others need to go to, and so do all those personal posts on health issues and family problems.  Then find the “friends and family” that continually do the same and unfriend them. But Karen, you say, I can’t unfriend my Mom, best friend, or anyone to whom I am connected. Actually, you can, and my clients regularly do so with just a small explanation about how it can hurt their job search. If these people truly care about you, they will understand. Find the old profiles that you haven’t deleted, old resumes posted on Monster, CareerBuilder, etc., and delete, delete, delete. 

Blessedly, once something is deleted, it will be increasingly harder to find. My clients have seen a job search or career revitalized after ridding their social media of questionable content, negative political and religious opinions, and old profiles they forgot existed. The impact of having a positive overall profile cannot be underestimated with so many companies doing a “deep dive” on candidates.

I realize the temptation that exists to share this information, but do so privately with friends and family in conversation to avoid having it online where it can come back and hurt you. Lastly, always take 24-hours before responding to an email (those can also get shared out on the Internet), post, video, etc., to ensure you have a calmer viewpoint with more context, which often will make you hit the delete button. Purge the negative from your overall “public” profile, and watch your career grow and your job search reinvigorated!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Career Management, Human Resources, Interviews, Job Search, Life Coaching, Personal Branding
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Getting Constant Rejections in Your Job Search?

October 24th, 2020
Getting Constant Rejections in Your Job Search?

Assumptions that individuals make during a job search, particularly when it comes to rejections, are rarely true. We second guess ourselves because of perceived failure. Below, I offer a more accurate assessment of what is often occurring, and a few tips to overcome it when the issue is one you can rectify. 

1) The organization interviews candidates but doesn’t hire anyone because they are too cheap to pay the going rate. Magically, days later, they re-advertise the same job with a new title at a lesser pay rate.

2) They already knew who they wanted. Job ad and interviews were for show and to meet Federal hiring requirements.

3) They are looking for a unicorn. Remember, unicorns (also called Purple Squirrels) don’t exist, and they couldn’t afford the salary if they found one.

4) The job never existed (trying to look good to the competition or testing the talent pool), or the requisition was pulled during interviews due to budgetary concerns (so it no longer exists).

5) Expectations on length of job search may be unrealistic. An average job search prior to COVID lasted approximately 23 weeks, and even now, despite increased hiring, is still 21 weeks. Those numbers are direct from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) A-12 Table. Additionally, current Total Unemployment according to BLS U6 Table is at 12.3% for September 2020 (that is the genuine number looking for work and unemployed, and not just those on unemployment benefits). 

Many a client or potential client comes to me expecting a one-month job search, and as you can see, that isn’t typical. Putting an irrational “target date” on your job search is a guaranteed recipe for disappointment and creates undue stress. 

6) Applying for any and every job that looks good, instead of a focused job search on one to three job types/careers. Determine the one to three careers you truly want and have the skills to pursue. Create a tailored resume and cover letter for each career (tweaking for every application). Stick to them for success.

7) Not dressing appropriately for the interview. Nice blouse, or shirt and tie, and please, put on real pants for video! We haven’t moved to a “casual everything environment” and jobseekers are still expected to dress appropriately, whether a video or in-person interview.

8) Poor camera and sound quality or utilizing a questionable background for video interviews. Test your sound and camera quality with a friend prior to that first interview. Also, it should go without saying that pictures of pot leaves, pot plants, political figures or slogans, smarmy or inappropriate sayings, liquor and beer bottles littering the area, too many religious items, Star Wars (sorry collectors) and Barbie items, etc., will ensure you won’t be invited back. Keep it simple, keep it professional, and see a good result. Don’t forget to look at the camera during the interview, not the screen!

9) Have a nervous “tick or tell” that happens when you are interviewed? Do a mock interview with a friend in HR or use an interview coach. Either party should offer constructive feedback that includes tips to mitigate the issue(s).

10) Offering negative answers to questions, especially when it comes to current or past employers/bosses. Try running your answer by friends who are hiring managers or in HR, to ensure you aren’t torpedoing yourself without realizing it.

11) You played the one-page game. Most resumes are actually two, sometimes three pages, depending on the experience. Tell a story with your bullet points, education, adjunct information, etc., of success in your career.  Employ the necessary keywords and key phrases throughout your experience and supplemental detail. 

12) Your social media is a hot mess. All that info to get rid of in a video background on my #8 applies to your social media. It isn’t private, they are checking, and it will cost you the job.

Things you can do to help yourself:

–Remember that your length of job search in no way reflects the value you have or will provide to an organization.

–While your job search may be taking longer than expected, it doesn’t mean that you are unemployable. Understanding that it takes several months for most people to get a new job, should give you comfort in knowing you are not alone. 

–Stay away from negative friends, family and acquaintances who are judging your job search. The irony of their judgment frequently becomes clear during their next job search.  If you can’t fully avoid the person, limit your exposure. (See my article “Give Jobseekers Your Support, Not Your Judgment” on LinkedIn.

–You can, when necessary, take a less than desirable job to have income. Do not allow that situation to end your job search. You have merely taken a Stop-Gap Job to meet financial needs, and this does not have to be a permanent relationship. Keep on searching!

Sometimes a job search takes longer than we anticipate or want. Never allow expectations to get in the way of your search, as they create frustrations and impede your progress. New jobs are advertised daily, so don’t permit current disappointment to keep you from applying and networking your way to your next job. Never give up, never surrender!

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Coaching, Interviews, Job Search, Networking, Personal Branding, Resume Writing
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Why People Really Leave Jobs

October 7th, 2020
Why People Really Quit Jobs

Despite the supposed studies to the contrary, this is spot on. The number one reason people literally flee their current job, will quit on the spot without notice, or have zero engagement and just wither away until fired or laid off, is due to a bad manager. Over 20 years of coaching and writing resumes for my clients, and always digging deep as to the reason they are leaving, this is the number one reason people leave.

When will Corporate America start promoting those with management and leadership talent from the start? When will they provide ongoing training to all of their management? When will they eliminate the lazy promotion of people who are “good at their last job,” into management roles? From micromanagement disasters, to nasty egomaniacs, to the disengaged manager allowing their employees to languish, these bosses are like having a giant mower constantly cut you down until you become a bitter, resentful employee, or quit.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/employees-dont-leave-companies-managers-brigette-hyacinth/?trackingId=LsFCTTMfSK2la1Yf0QQ6EA%3D%3D

Categories Career Coaching, Career Management, Human Resources, Job Search, Talent Management
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Video Interviewing Tips

August 13th, 2020

I was recently ask (along with several colleagues) to answer the following question for the National Resume Writers’ Association’s Expert’s Blog: I’m deathly afraid of video. How can I still do well in video interviews given my fear of the camera? Here is my response and a link to all the responses:

Karen Silins, A+ Career & Resume, LLC

Here are my best tips to help you feel more confident: Test your connection, computer camera and lighting ahead of time. Avoid loud spaces and use an appropriate background. Be early, and have your resume, cover letter and job ad in front of you. Dress as you would for an in-person interview. Look in the camera, not at your picture in the monitor/screen. Have a glass of water nearby. SMILE!

I’m deathly afraid of video. How can I still do well in video interviews given my fear of the camera?
NRWA Experts Blog
Categories Career Coaching, Interviews, Job Search
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Working, Post COVID

May 8th, 2020

How do we deal with work-from-home post COVID?  While there are people who can work from home and do so effectively, actually most are not wired to do so.  Look around you at work.  How many people struggle to pay attention, keep looking at their cell phones, may already dislike their work but can’t seem to move on, and/or pop up their Facebook pages and home shopping on the work computer?  How many people do you see that need people interaction, not just a Chatty Kathy, but those that truly enjoy in-person communication with others?  That only leaves about two out of every 10 people to work from home successfully. 

Most individuals are too easily distracted, already struggle to “do work” at the workplace, are actually workaholics and being in a business environment helps control that problem, and/or need the in-person interaction of others to maintain their sanity.  The COVID crisis, and so many struggling to work from home has made this quite apparent.  It isn’t just about working with your spouse or children in the same room.  Besides, can you really call it a home office if it is your kitchen table or couch.

I have had more than one colleague who worked from home and quit doing so due to time management, distraction and interpersonal engagement issues.  Additionally, I have had numerous clients fail in a business while working from home, hate doing so for an employer, or had their spouse experience the same, because of identical issues.  This doesn’t make you a bad employee – it makes you human, and a person who either wants or needs to be in a traditional work environment.  Knowing that you need a conventional office atmosphere, makes you a good employee! 

But Karen, we have video chat, IM’s, and email, etc.  Yes, we do, and this type of technology actually means more time wasting for many employees than it ever creates.  Look at those who can’t even manage their cell phone texting or emails. Understanding this fact gives us power and control, a huge benefit to our career.

Interaction, not just in the periphery, in social distancing, or via Zoom, is necessary for human beings.  From hugs during tough times to just sitting close to another human being, we ARE wired to do these things!  Certainly, our current environment has changed things, but this to shall pass. Precautions can be taken at work to mitigate risk and keep you safe. Admit it if you can’t really work from home, it will be of value to both your career and personal life.

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Career Management, Careers, Human Resources, Life Coaching, Opinion, Talent Management
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Inspirational and Motivational Quotes

April 9th, 2020

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
― Albert Einstein

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

“Don’t hang on to all of your stuff – ideas, household and personal items, and anything else that doesn’t serve you right now. Just because you might use them one day is meaningless. Can you use them now? Keep and use what you need now, let the rest go.”
―  Karen Silins

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
― Helen Keller

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
― Winston S. Churchill

“It isn’t what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”
― Dale Carnegie

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

Categories Career Coaching, Career Management, Inspiration, Life Coaching
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Level Up Your Soft Skills to Grow Your Career

March 5th, 2020

A colleague recently asked about increasing soft skills, including resources and how to go about it. Here is my answer and the link to the article she wrote from it.

Lezlie, thanks for asking about leveling up soft skills.  Blessedly, there are tremendous free and low-cost options for people to obtain professional development online and in-person.  Typically, that in-person training is more at corporate, community college, and community center/library level, whereas online comes from multiple sources, including LinkedIn.  However, individuals must be careful in thinking that any course can transmit into soft skills immediately.  Mentorship is also incredibly valuable.  From interpersonal communication, public speaking, conflict management, and emotional intelligence, to trend awareness, situational awareness, and time management, all of these skills are developed over time and with practice.  This means practicing with others, using it in your daily interactions and approaches in your workplace and personal life, and realizing you can’t work on 10 of these simultaneously.  Just like learning a new language, it is with use that you gain proficiency.  Read about them, take courses in them, and use them.  As a couple of skills start to become more routine to you, add another.  Also, remember that others come equipped with certain skills you don’t have and vice versa, so learn from them.   

https://www.resumelezlie.com/how-to-dominate-your-career-change-with-soft-skills/

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Coaching, Career Management, Careers, Job Search, Personal Branding
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Give Jobseekers Your Support, Not Your Judgment

February 25th, 2020

I recently commented on an article shared via LinkedIn regarding the emotional anxiety faced by job seekers. Please read the post below and the article link if you know someone who is in the midst of a job search and could use your support.

“Amen, this is a huge issue and something that people who are in a current job often don’t appreciate, even if they have been through a job search recently.  It seems that once we are working again, those memories of how hard it really was fades.  Jobseekers can often be judged as lazy or “damaged” when their search takes longer than others expect. 

Support a person in a job search, listen with empathy to their stories of frustration.  While we shouldn’t allow anyone to wallow in their disappointment, an empathetic ear can be energizing, and help them to no longer feel alone.  You may be the one person who makes the difference and helps them keep moving forward to a new job. ”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/02/17/we-need-to-openly-talk-about-the-mental-and-emotional-anguish-faced-by-job-seekers/#7727b9b2c27c

Karen Silins is a multi-certified, award winning resume writer, career, business and personal branding coach working with individuals and small businesses. After graduating with degrees in education and vocal performance, she made her own career transition into the Human Resources realm. Karen left Human Resources to become an entrepreneur and help jobseekers, executives and fellow entrepreneurs achieve their goals. She keeps current regarding trends in the resume writing, coaching, HR, small business and marketing industries by working daily with individual clients on resume development and career coaching, executive/career management coaching, consulting for small businesses in business plan development, marketing, blogging, hiring and overall HR processes, and providing 20-50+ seminars and workshops annually to a variety of organizations in the greater Kansas City area. She can be reached via her website at www.careerandresume.com.

Categories Career Coaching, Job Search
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