How to Nurture Your Network [4 Useful Tools]

How to Nurture Your Network [4 Useful Tools] Nurturing your network takes time and effort. You know you should be keeping in touch with people you have met along the way, however, you find the thought of it overwhelming and time-consuming. Instead of ignoring your network, perhaps the question is, how can you make it easier. There are tools to help simplify the process of keeping in touch. However, tools are only the mechanism. Your message still needs to be sincere and reciprocal. 1. Rapportive Email is still the most important communication tool. So how can you get more bang for your buck here? Rapportive is a Gmail plug-in that shows you the email senders picture, location and social networks from inside your inbox. Before you send an individual an email, wouldnt it be nice to see what they are doing or saying? You can. You see their most recent updates on Twitter and Facebook (if connected) and can leverage this information to tailor your message. For example, maybe they are celebrating an important event or shared a particularly interesting article. In your email, you can reference that information and in doing so, build a stronger connection. If, for some reason, you are not connected on a social network, you can easily connect from within Gmail. If you use Outlook, never fear. There is a similar tool called Xobni (inbox backwards). 2. LinkedIn You most likely have a LinkedIn account. But how often do you log in? Add LinkedIn to your daily routine by checking your networks status updates. Or, if you don’t want to log in, check your settings for “frequency of email” to ensure you are getting individual emails for network updates and status changes. Send a congratulatory message to someone who has recently been promoted or changed jobs. Did you enjoy someones recent status update? Leave a comment or if you are in a hurry, just like it. LinkedIns newest endorsement feature enables you to support someone for their skills and expertise. Or you can set and skim the news feeds on LinkedIn Today to keep up with industry trends. When you find a particularly good article, share it with someone in your network you think will enjoy it. There are so many ways to use LinkedIn to forge stronger relationships  use it. 3. Google Alerts If you are trying to develop new relationships or there are some people who arent within your network yet, Google Alerts are terrific. Creating “alerts” by company name, industry keywords, city, or person will trigger Google to send you an alert whenever those words hit the web. This is great for target company monitoring. 4. Telephone Dont forget about the telephone. Reach out and touch someone! There are people you know a lot and a little and one way to keep in touch with them is a good old fashion phone call. Do you have all your contacts in your mobile? The next time you have time to kill (think about your drive home, waiting to pick up your kids, time between events or meetings) pick a friend to call. It doesnt have to be a long call, just a quick, “Hi, I am checking in.” (Please be sure to use hands free or avoid making calls in public places, that’s dangerous and annoying, right?) Perhaps texting a simple, “Hi, just checking in” message is more your style that will work too. These are just some of the many tools and tricks out there for monitoring and nurturing your network. When you maintain and strengthen your network to increase your knowledge, understand industry trends, get answers to questions impacting your work and productivity, you build a strong career safety net! Stay connected! How are you keeping track of and in touch with what’s going on in your network?  Leave us a comment below to let us know your tips are always welcome! Image: Pablo

Personal Development How to Keep Your New Years Resolutions

Personal Development How to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions With 2011 rapidly approaching, it is time to start thinking about resolutions for the New Year. Hopefully we can move on to new resolutions after a successful 2010, but chances are that at least one of our goals slipped by us this past year. Whether you’re going to take another crack at old resolutions or want to set some new ones, here are some tips that will help you keep them in 2011. 1) Make Them Achievable: It will be difficult to keep a resolution if it seems overwhelming. Make sure that each resolution is realistic and that you aren’t attempting to tackle too many. It is also helpful to set smaller, more measurable goals that will lead to keeping your resolution by the end of the year. If you want to lose fifty pounds, for example, plan to lose five pounds by the end of January. You may even set daily goals that will lead to these types of monthly goals. If you wait until December to chart your progress, it is unlikely you will have kept that resolution. 2) Write Them Down As soon as you’ve decided on some achievable New Year’s resolutions, it is helpful to write them down or type them out. Writing them down helps confirm your commitment. Moving your goals from your mind to the paper is moving one step closer to achieving them and as the adage says, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” 3) Post Reminders You will certainly have plenty of distractions over the next 365 days so it is helpful to post reminders. Post your resolution or resolutions in places that you will see everyday like the corner of your bathroom mirror or on your refrigerator. If you use a day planner or keep a journal, you can jot down reminders in those as well. The easiest way to fail in keeping your resolutions is to forget that you planned on keeping them in the first place. It can also be helpful to share your resolutions with your spouse, siblings, or roommate and ask that they share theirs with you. The occasional verbal reminder is extremely helpful. Goal setting is an essential part of productive and happy living and no time seems more natural to set resolutions than the beginning of a New Year. Use these tips to make sure you don’t find yourself with the same set of resolutions at the end of 2011. What  is your resolution for the New Year? Diane Johnson writes about a number of her interests including Pell Grants for College, four wheeling, shopping, and celebrating holidays. (Photo by ahisgett)

Sell Yourself! Get Ahead!

Sell Yourself! Get Ahead! Some people are really good at self-promotion. The elevator pitch rolls of their tongues in every new situation. Others would rather undergo a form of torture than push themselves forward by pointing out their positive attributes. What about you? Are you in danger of boasting, or do you fail to sell yourself to others? How can you strike the right balance? It might make all the difference to your job search. Do you know Ms or Mr Alpha? These people  are really good at whatever they do. Academic study, running clubs and societies, volunteering, networking, the list goes on. But, what if we stop and ask ourselves how we know how good they are? Sometimes we’ll find that it’s because they tell us! They’re  undoubtedly great at self-publicity, but they may not actually be any better than the rest of us at everything else. The great thing for them, is that their publicity works. We believe them. What about Ms or Mr Alpha Plus, plus, plus? These characters rather overstep the mark with their self-promotion. Literally every opportunity to extol their own virtues is seized. They’re not as successful at convincing us though. In fact they risk making themselves unpopular, or even turning into laughing stocks. They’ve overstepped the mark, we aren’t sure we like them and we don’t believe them. Theyve got it wrong. Then there are the  Epsilon family… We never hear from them about their successes or achievements. We probably rather like them, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that theyre nice but average. We’re often wrong. Their trophies are in cupboards and they don’t tell us when and how theyve succeeded. Humility is great, it just doesn’t necessarily help you get ahead! They need to learn to sell themselves. Do we need to be able to promote ourselves to achieve success? Surely good people get noticed without “blowing their own trumpets”? Not necessarily. If you’re going to land a good job and succeed  once youve started work you need to find a way to promote yourself without boasting and alienating everyone around you. How might you do that? 1. Understand what your own strengths are. You can’t sell something if you don’t know what you’re selling! Try to spend some honest time reflecting what you are good and less good at. There are some useful resources to help you here. Make sure that you never tell others you’re good at things which aren’t exactly strengths. You’ll undermine all your personal credibility and you definitely won’t endear yourself to anyone. An honest audit of your strengths is also going to help you with the job hunt. Youll be better able to apply for the jobs which align to your skills and experience. 2. Use your strengths to help others. If you have the expertise to support someone else and you go out of your way to help them, several things will happen. Others will notice you’re good and they might start talking about you. You might find that you’ve developed a positive reputation without having had to say anything yourself. You’ll also be able to use the experience to help you in the job market. Writing in an application form about how (for example) you used your social media skills to build a website to promote a business, leading to £x of new sales, is a compelling story. It’s a lot better than a bald assertion that you’re good with social media. 3. Don’t just talk. Listen too! Listening to others can be very powerful. We all like to be listened to! Generally a conversation is only successful if it’s a two way affair. If you talk all the time people stop listening. However good your personal pitch was, it won’t be heard. Helping others to understand and articulate their strengths is one way of promoting your own without sounding boastful. The process of listening helps in the job hunt too. “Listening” to what question an employer is asking in an application form or at interview ensures that you target your answer correctly! 4. Think about your body language . I’ve blogged recently about body language in interviews. Remember that your body is talking all the time. How you tell people about yourself matters. Don’t be too loud, or too confident. The self-deprecating smile or wince will help you to persuade people you’re great without alienating them. Try not to gaze at the floor or melt into the corner though when others are exploring their strengths. Make sure you’re part of the conversation. 5. Use social media wisely You can build up your reputation in a particular area through your social media engagement. For example, use your LinkedIn account to comment on news stories in areas of your own expertise. You might find that people start to listen to you and to follow what you’re saying. Your reputation will start to grown and if you’re job hunting you might even find yourself engaging with the very recruiters you want to win over. So, final thoughts You need to engage with an element of self promotion â€" however much it is anathema to you! Make sure you don’t overdo it though. Subtlety is key!

Do You Have What It Takes For a Career in Nursing

Do You Have What It Takes For a Career in Nursing Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system. They play a vital role, and the career is both demanding and rewarding in equal measures. If you’re looking to become a nurse, either through changing your current job or because you’re just starting out in your career, here are a few things to bear in mind. Do you have what it takes? Nursing is Physically Demanding Working as a nurse will require you to be on your feet for a large part of the working day. Depending on the role, you could be helping to lift patients or even physically restrain them. You have to miss meals, hold your bladder and generally put yourself second while you’re dealing with patients. Nursing is Mentally Challenging As well as being tough physically, working as a nurse can also be mentally challenging too. You deal with illness and death. Difficult patients, terrible circumstances. You’re there at all stages of life and death, helping people through grief, medical issues, and tragedy. You have to be the right kind of person to deal with this kind of thing on a daily basis. Nursing Means Working Long Hours and Irregular Working Times Care work isn’t for those who want a nine to five role. Shift work is common in nursing, and you’ll do your fair share of evening and weekend work too. Unlike offices, factories, shops or anything else- care work doesn’t stop during special occasions. Christmas, bank holidays your own special events during the year. People will always need care regardless of the occasion or whatever else is going on in life. You have to be prepared to sacrifice this for a career in nursing. Twelve-hour shifts, which often ends up being longer, will drain you of every bit of energy you have. Nurses Deal With Paperwork….So Much Paperwork Everything you do as a nurse requires relevant paperwork writing up afterward. There’s always a ton to get through, and it’s a side of the job that has to be done efficiently despite how tired or exhausted you are. It’s annoying, but this paperwork helps to keep track of everything so nurses can continue to provide care to such a high standard. Along with paperwork you also have to make sure your own documents are kept up to date too. One example is the NMC revalidation which has to be done every three years. Without this, you’re not able to continue practicing as a nurse. Still interested? Then chances are you have what it takes for a career in nursing. Despite its challenges, nursing is one of the most rewarding job roles you can do, and nurses play a crucial role in society and healthcare. As well as deal with illness and sadness, you also get to experience making people well again. Giving hope and positivity. With a career in nursing, you can go home each night knowing that you made a genuine difference in the world.    Taking nursing up for a career is a great idea, especially if you are already a very giving person. Looking into getting an  enhanced DBS  is definitely worth a thought. And if   you are interested in a career in nursing, you can even get an online BSN with a program like RN to BSN San Antonio.   Thats just one of many options. Image credits: Main

How to Draft a Professional Resume Using Expert Resume Writing Experts

How to Draft a Professional Resume Using Expert Resume Writing ExpertsToday, more people are turning to professional resume writing experts. They see that online services like resume posting sites, forums and job portals are quite efficient and there is a great potential of having your resume in front of a lot of people. However, in order to be effective you need to know how to properly handle your resume and build your credibility. There are a few different steps that you need to follow in order to get a good look at your resume.First, your resume needs to be consistent in order to give it the best possibility of getting through the screening process. This means that the first part of your resume needs to convey what your professional skills are in a general way. Then, the second part should focus on what specific talents and skills you have as a professional. This is one of the most important parts of a resume.You also need to make sure that your resume needs to stand out from the crowd of all the other resumes that are floating around. You can do this by designing a resume that clearly displays your own unique abilities. The main key to doing this is through your resume keywords. You have to ensure that the keywords are not too close together or too far apart from each other. Your resume will look cluttered if this happens.The next step for how to properly draft a resume is to look for the professional resume writers who can help you. There are a lot of well-known companies and programs that can help you. A word of advice though: make sure that you choose a company that has a lot of experience in this field because that is the only way that you can ensure that they can give you a good result.The third step is to look for the professionals who can help you write the proper resume. There are lots of companies that are established in this field and they will be able to help you come up with the perfect resume for you. However, make sure that they are profession al enough in this field and they have experience in this field.Lastly, the final step that you need to consider when you are ready to draft your resume needs to include your contact information. Your contact information should be included in your resume so that when you go for interviews your potential employers can check your resume before you get there.Now that you know how to create a resume that gives you a good look at it, the next thing you need to know is how to make it professional. This includes writing a good cover letter and having a professional format. The professional format and the cover letter are two separate things, but they are needed to make the process of looking at your resume easier.The resume writing experts that you hire will help you craft a resume that will get you a good job. You should remember that good resumes are not the main ingredients to getting a good job, the professionals are.

Job Seeker Get On Page One

Job Seeker Get On Page One Isnt it time you get on page one? When you search for your name, does it appear on the first page of search results? Is it the right you and is this the best information about you? You better hope so!   Get On Page One The reason this is important, in case you havent heard, is because over 75% of hiring authorities ARE googling you. Their perception of you is their reality. I write and present on the topic of reputation management a lot because it is more  important than most people realize. Do you have a Google problem? Pete Kistler, founder of BrandYourself did. It was a classic case of mistaken identity.   He and a drug dealer shared the same name. Pete sought the help of his friend and SEO wizard, Patrick Ambron, to resolve his problem. This is how BrandYourself got its start. My Google Problem Maybe you dont share the name with a drug dealer.   My issue is that I have a very common nameHannah Morgan.   Every high school track star shares my name. Plus, a model and a heroine of a book share my name. So my Google problem is that I am not the only Hannah Morgan on page one of a Google search.   How can I be sure they are clicking on the right ME?! Push The Right Stuff With the BrandYourself tool, I was able to push the best content, about me and by me, up on page one. Whenever one of the links in my search results changes or new search results appear, BrandYourself notifies me so I can be aware. Managing your online reputation is an ongoing process and these alert emails help me stay on top of where I rank. (*Small disclaimerI used to contribute articles for BrandYourself,  and I truly love what they are doing!) How BrandYourself Works: BrandYourself is the only Do-It-Yourself  platform that makes it easy for  anyone  to  improve  their own search results. Submit any links you want showing up at the top of Google Use our tools to optimize those links so they show up higher Track your links as they begin to rise and bury unwanted results Page One Results Rule If your name doesnt appear on page one of Google or other search engines, what does that mean? It means the likelihood that the person searching for information on you will most likely NOT go to page 2, 3 or 100 looking for you.   Studies have proven that links ranked on page one (and very highly on page one) greatly increased the likelihood of being clicked. Do You Understand SEO? With BrandYourselfs reputation management tool, you dont need to be an SEO wizard. Their free tool walks you, very effortlessly, through the setup process and then provides suggestions to help you improve the Google ranking of your name. The BrandYourself Promise Our goal is to make it as easy as possible to help anyone control their own search results. That means well always answer the phone. BrandYourself in the Spot Light You may not have heard about BrandYourself, but theyve been getting great press.   They have also received numerous awards (from the Whitehouse and other organizations) recognizing them as a successful, innovative Start-Up. The Bottom Line Go google your name and see what appears on the first page of search results. Can you do better? Dish up the best and most relevant references to your name. Get on page one of search results.

How to Quickly and Cheaply Re-Design Your Resume so it Looks Amazing - CareerEnlightenment.com

This is exactly the process Smashing Magazine used with the Mister Stevenson project.Heres how you can do it:Upload your well written yet ugly looking résumé to some website. (try wordpress.com for starters) This is just to share the info, so dont sweat the design here.  Start an account with 99 Designs  and post your first project.Provide feedback to the designs you think are most promising.Select a winner and be proud!Tips for writing your project description:Link to your drab looking yet well written résumé website in the project descriptionAlso be sure to include important details about your personal brandRead the Smashing Magazine article carefully or share parts of it, especially the 10 lessons learned at the bottom.Form Versus FunctionToday, the way something looks matters almost more than its  apparent  function. Good design is just part or our society. So dont just stop with a well written résumé. Your work ends with a well designed résumé.So take action.Follow these steps or use a private graphic designer. Id love to hear what your experience was when you do this. Please share in the comments.Joshua is the founder of Career Enlightenment which offers  professional LinkedIn profile writing  and job search services to colleges, WorkForce offices and re-entering veterans.  If you’d like to attract top employers to your LinkedIn profile, check out Joshua’s  LinkedIn Writing Service.