Happy Graduation! Some Hot Tips for Finding a Job

If you're a recent college graduate - congratulations! Do you know your next steps for finding a job and starting your career?

When you graduate it's easy to feel like all the hard work is done and you've earned your entree into the job market. Having a degree does make it easier to qualify for jobs, but, attaining a degree is often just the beginning of a career. This year's graduates will have an easier time finding a job than those who graduated in prior years according to CBS Money Watch, Job Outlook for 2011 College Grads Best in 4 Years.

My clients who want to thrive in their careers learn the steps for putting their degree to work and you can too!  Here are some tips to get you started.

• Be sure you have a targeted strategy that guides your job search. 
• Once you've identified the kind of job you want, find the industries that offer those jobs. Pick your first choice and determine how you're going to go after it. This becomes your "Plan A."
• "Plan A" needs to be written. It should list the steps you're going to take and the date you want to complete each step. Studies show that if you write your plan, you'll have a bigger chance of success. Having a plan will help you evaluate what is working in your job search and what isn't. If something isn't working you can make adjustments before too much time passes. 
• Create a Plan B and a Plan C for your second and third choices too.

Having a written plan and a well thought out strategy can keep you productive, focused and motivated so you're more likely to land the job of your dreams.

If you'd like to learn more tips for finding a career that is right for you, be sure to attend "What Every Career Seeker Needs to Know," a FREE teleseminar on June 2, 2011. Register here.


I'd love your comments and to hear what has worked for you.

What?! Step Away to Get More Done?

If you like getting things done it's easy to convince yourself the most productive way to go after it is to sit at your desk, focus, and plow through whatever is on your plate until you are finished. I don't know about you, but I've spent hours chained to my desk due to this mindset. Some of them have been productive and some of them have been down right frustrating! Have you ever noticed that sometimes this technique of too much forcing and too much focus backfires? Every once in awhile what you've got on your plate may be so overwhelming it's hard to decide which step to take first, or how to tackle everything. 

My clients have learned several tips and tricks for moving forward in these situations during my Overwhelm Busters® workshops. One tip seems counterproductive but it works and it can work for you too!  If you're in the overwhelmed mode and find that you're stuck and no matter what you do the flow just isn't there for figuring it all out, rather than wasting more time being frustrated, it may be more productive to take a break. 

Yep, just step away and take a walk outside. Visit another floor in your building. Take an early lunch and browse at a bookstore. Sit outside and read a book. Giving your brain a diversion often allows it to relax. When it's relaxed it is freed up and has the space to creatively problem solve, come up with a new idea, or think of a way to proceed that gives you the "ah-ha" you need to accelerate your productivity.   

It turns out not only can your brain benefit from stepping away from your desk, it's also good for your body.  "Sitting All Day is Worse For You Than You Think,"  a story on NPR's Morning Edition, provides even more reasons to get up and get moving during your work day, whether you're feeling stuck or not!

Have you ever stepped away and found it to be more productive? If so, what did you do to take a break? I'd love your comments!

Burn Out: Beat it Before It Beats You

If you're a high-powered career woman, you know what it takes to stay ahead of the competition -- dedication, focus, a willingness to take everything on, travel, extra hours, maneuvering in a lean and mean environment. I lived this lifestyle. What I didn't realize was, this can be the road to burn out if you're not careful.

For me it was an injury, one day I was on top of my game, the next I was at the bottom of a flight of stairs having fallen after being exhausted from two cross-country business trips. I almost broke my neck. I had plenty of time recuperating to mull over my life. Even though I was successful, I wasn't really happy.  I realized the seductive adrenaline of the rat race was going to have to take a back seat because what I really wanted was to feel like I had a LIFE. My goal became to figure out how to reclaim my life AND maintain my successful career.

If you can relate to feeling burned out, this article Overcoming Burnout, has some great tips. I've worked with many clients to shift them from burn out to balance by looking at their unique situation and coming up with a step-by-step strategy for reclaiming their life without giving up a successful career.
 
For me, the first step in reclaiming my life was the decision to do it differently.  How about you? Have you ever felt burned out? What do you do think is important for dealing with it? I'd love your comments.
Questions? Feel free to contact me.

Believing You can Create Your Career Path

"Of all the forces that hold women back, however, none are as powerful as entrenched beliefs" ... states a new McKinsey report, "Unlocking the Full Potential of Women in the US Economy," by Joanna Barsh.

As my clients and I work together to find the right job that resonates with who they really are and to realize their true potential, we explore beliefs about success, opportunity, the past, and who, or what keeps them from getting what they want.

From my experience some widely held beliefs about what it takes to be successful in your career are:  

• you need to always be available to stay ahead of the competition
• keep taking things on to prove your ability, your capacity and your worth
• keep up or they'll find someone else who will
• if you've put in the time you deserve the promotion
• just wait (don't ask) and good things will come your way
• I'm so busy I don't have time to do what it takes to create my career path

These beliefs can exact a heavy price -- burn out, exhaustion, disappointment, frustration, and going blindly down a path you didn't chose to an unfulfilled and unbalanced life.

Career success begins with the belief that you CAN create your own path.  Career success is sustained by constantly revisiting two fundamental questions, "what do I want to achieve?" and "what am I doing it for?"

Have you carved out a career path that you love? What beliefs do you think are necessary for achieving success in your career?

Overwhelmed at Work? Tips for Asking for Help

If you're feeling overwhelmed at work, you're not alone. My research shows that the majority of professionals I surveyed felt overwhelmed 50 to 75 percent of their work week. 

This New York Times article "It's Not Mount Everest. It's My Workload," provides some tips to keep in mind when you need to ask for help. Some tricks my clients have learned from the Overwhelm Busters® trainings I offer is how take personal leadership by presenting strategies that enhance your reputation and create a win/win for you and for your supervisor. For example, contribute your ideas for solving the problem rather than just asking for help. Maybe a deadline needs to be re-negotiated, or there is a more efficient way to carry out the task at hand. Having a solution ready when you make a request shows you are thinking about results, you're a problem solver, and you have considered others who might be impacted by your request. Frame your request for help as a win/win and the better your chances are for getting your needs met.

Have you ever had to ask a colleague for help? What worked well for getting others to pitch in when you were overwhelmed? I'd love your comments.

Creating a Home Office that Supports Your Success

Yesterday I posted "What Does Your Office Say About You" and received a comment asking for additional tips for people who have a home office that no one else sees. It's my pleasure to provide three tips for creating a home office that supports your success.

It is just as important, maybe even more so, to consciously establish an office that supports you in being successful in your business if you're working at home. Why? If you're a solopreneur, you're most likely alone a good part of your workday. So you've got to stay motivated, focused and energized and a powerful, harmonized, balanced, nurturing space can help you do that.

• Claim Your Space. Some people I know who work at home have no designated "office space."  They are what I call "office gypsies" -- have lap top will travel. They may work at a kitchen table, in the living room or bedroom, or go to a coffee shop. If you're finding it hard to stay focused, you're easily distracted and not grounded, this could be a contributing factor. Stake a claim on a designated space for your work. I work individually with clients to review their office set up to make sure it functionally supports their work style and provides a good foundation from which they can be successful. I've even helped people who work in their garage create work spaces that support productivity and prosperity!
  
• Surround yourself with only things that you love. If you work alone its important to stay motivated. Being at home it's easy to get distracted by chores, TV, or other at home temptations corporate folks don't face. Working in an environment that is inviting helps you stay motivated, focused and energized because you want to be there. Situate your desk so you have a view out the window, keep fresh flowers on your desk. Add personal touches like pillows in chairs and colors that make you feel calm.  Remember, what surrounds you either energizes you or drains you. You want your workspace to be uplifting so it can encourage your creativity! 

• Place things in your office that represent the success you want to achieve. For example, maybe one of your goals is to be on the cover of a national magazine. Make up a mock magazine cover with your picture on the front and hang it on the wall to remind you of where you're headed.  (This is a lot easier to do in a home office than in a corporate office!)  If you want greater prosperity put something in your office that makes you feel rich. (In my work with individual clients we pick items that are most meaningful to them. I review their space in person or on-line to let them know where the objects should be placed so they support the goals they want to achieve. Aligning your space with your goals helps to remove hidden blocks to success and accelerates the achievement of your goals.)

I hope this additional information helps you create a space that is productive and empowering. Let me know if you have questions about creating your own peak performance environment by leaving a comment or emailing me directly at Linda@LindaHardenstein.com.

What Does Your Office Say About You?

Most of us think about the image we want to put forth, especially in the workplace. We dress for success, create logos to send a specific message, create cards and ads that brand us, but we often forget that our work space also sends a message about who we are and our success.

What do you want your office to say about you -- you're stressed, on top of things, capable of handling a promotion, balanced, at peace, overwhelmed, or in chaos?

You want a space that energizes you, reflects confidence in your abilities, keeps you productive, focused and in the zone - right?  I call this a Peak Performance Environment. A place where you want to go every day that supports you in being your best and reflects your goals and your successes.

How do you create a Peak Performance Environment? In my work with hundreds of executives and business owners we've aligned their office space to support them in achieving their goals. Managers have gained promotions, department chairs have raised more funds, HR managers have made their offices more comfortable, increased harmony and reduced conflicts and entrepreneurs have upped their income. They have learned tips and tricks to make their workspace more productive, balanced and harmonious and you can too!  Here are some things you can do right away to begin creating a work environment that sends a positive message to others and keeps you performing at your peak:

• Your desk IS your mission control. Keep it as neat as possible to reduce distractions and keep you productive. Have designated functional areas on your desktop for managing the flow of your work, for example, an in and out box for paper flow, a stand up rack for your action items and storage space for things that aren't a priority right now.
• What are your professional goals? Do you want a promotion? Does your office reflect what you're shooting for? For example, a high powered career woman wanted to be a VP. Her office was full of stuffed animals and dying plants. Stuffed animals are appropriate in some environments, for example if you're working with children, but if you're in a hard hitting corporate job your environmental message is incongruent -- the stuffed animals are out of alignment with what you're trying to achieve.    
• Clutter is a time waster. Its not uncommon for people in office settings to spend up to five hours a week looking for things. Can you imagine how much more you can accomplish with five more productive hours in your work week?  Clutter also causes stagnation in the flow of your energy and can contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety, overwhelm, loss of control, depression and even shame. If you're feeling overwhelmed at work, sometimes its worth it to take a time out and clear the clutter from your desk. Getting organized can make you feel less overwhelmed and more in control of your day.  
• Conduct your own office review. Stand at your office door. Close your eyes for a minute. Open them and take a look around your office with fresh eyes. If you didn't know the person who resides there, what would you deduce about them if you stopped by and looked in their office?  Does it reflect what you want, or are there things in there that are blocking you from achieving your goals (like the stuffed animals!)? This exercise works even if you're a solo entrepreneur and working alone. What is your office saying to you every day? Is it reflecting back to you the success you want in your life?

If you'd like to learn more about how an office makeover can help you achieve your professional goals or how to create your Peak Performance Environment, contact me. 

Do you work in an office you love? If so, what makes it such a great place to be every day?