Career Success Partners

Behavioral Style Interviews Require Extra-Effort in Preparation. Consider These Tips.

The behavioral interview format is definitely more common now than it's ever been before.  Behavioral interviews are very effective when conducted properly.  Preparation for this type of interview definitely requires extra effort and time.

There are a number of great books and articles out there on the subject.  Find a great book. Do a search on Google for "behavioral interviews" and look through the myriad of articles written on the subject.  Read the example questions and the example answers.  Reading is helpful, but this is one definitely of those areas where SKILL (practicing and doing) far outweighs KNOWLEDGE (reading about it).

The BEST way to prepare for these interviews is to practice with a third-party, to role-play and to get quality feedback.  Practice and role-playing develops your SKILL and feedback reinforces your learning and helps you identify improvement ideas. 

Behavioral interviews are very dialogue-oriented, supplemented with deepening levels of probing  -- you're never quite sure which direction the line of questioning will flow.  That is the big reason why practice works so much better for preparing for this popular interview format.

Find someone skilled in behavioral interviews with whom you can practice -- maybe someone in your network in an HR role, a friend who is a consultant in the job search field, or an outside coach.  Practice is KEY to "acing" the behavioral interview.

All the best to you career success!

Posted via email from Andy Robinson's Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

How to Make an Impact EVERY Week - 3 Things I Was Reminded of This Past Week

As I looked back on the past week and considered the things that got done and the things that did NOT get done, I was reminded of the importance of maintaining a rhythm and routine with respect to activities in three key areas -- activities which, when done regularly, have a major positive impact on my weekly results and achievements.  Those areas of activity are:

• Daily New Business Development Activities.  As a small business owner, responsible for both the delivery of the services to my clients AND "keeping my plate full" of wonderful clients to work with, it is imperative that I spend a little bit of time EVERY DAY focused on marketing, sales and business development activities.  Sometimes it's an hour a day, sometimes 30 minutes and sometimes a couple of hours.  The important thing is the routine of doing SOMETHING meaningful and impactful on a daily basis.
  

• Reaching Out and Giving to My Network on a Daily Basis.  My business network is the lifeblood of my business -- current clients, former clients, prospective clients, former colleagues, fellow club and professional organization members, friends, vendors, alliance partners, business partners, advisors, LinkedIn contacts, Facebook friends and Twitter followers.  ALL are important, and doing something EACH DAY focused on communicating to members of my networking and/or giving something useful TO network contacts (information, referrals, advice that is asked for, etc.) is absolutely essential developing and growing my business.  Many of my best ideas come out of dialogue and communication with my network.
  

• Planning My Week Ahead of Time - Spending time once each week -- Friday afternoon, an hour over the weekend, or first thing Monday morning -- planning the week ahead helps me to BLOCK OUT TIME for the important tasks, projects, meetings, calls, etc. that need to get done that week.  If it's really important and requires a dedicated commitment of time -- 30 minutes to an hour or more -- I put the activity on my calendar to create a place-mark for getting it done.  My weekly planning time is critical to helping me stay on track with my goals and objectives and staying focused on the important things.

Two hours PLANNING once a wek, one hour a day (sometimes two) focused on business development, and an hour each day communicating to my network.  This is a formula I have found that works for me and produces excellent results.  Do I follow the formula every day ... every week?  No, I will miss a day here and there, and will abbreviate my weekly planning occasionally, BUT I definitely stay within the spirit and concept of this formula, knowing that it WILL keep me focused on the important things in my business.

All the best to your Career Success!
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
[email protected]
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

Posted via email from Andy Robinson's Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

Delegate! Leverage YOUR time and Enable Others to Develop

Take a listen to this 45 second audio clip suggesting an idea for delegating your workload to others:

CareerSuccess! Delegation Tip
(Click)

All the best to YOUR Career Success!
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
[email protected]
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

Posted via email from Andy Robinson's Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

3 Secrets to Hitting the Ground Running on Mondays

Weekends are a great time to step away from the pressures of work, spend some quality time with your family and loved ones, and recover physically and mentally from the previous work week.  As the weekend comes to a close and Monday morning nears the horizon, consider these three ideas for getting your week off to a fabulous start:

• Arrive at the office 30 minutes earlier this Monday morning.  Close your door and forward your office phone.  Use this time to PLAN YOUR WEEK:
  
  • Review your calendar for last week, this week and next week
  • Review your project list
  • Review your "to do" lists
  • Review your annual goals
  • Review your inbox (paper inbox)
  • Review your email inbox and key folders (but try to refrain from beginning the process of responding to emails during your planning time)
    

• As part of your weekly planning, identity the TOP THREE GOALS you'd like to achieve this coming week -- what are the three MOST IMPORTANT tasks or projects that you need to accomplish?  For each of these top three goals, what is the VERY NEXT ACTION you need to do (or delegate to someone else). 
  

• Schedule and protect time blocks.  Schedule blocks of time ON YOUR CALENDAR to work on tasks associated with your top three goals.  Time blocks of 60 to 90 minutes generally work best.  Ideally time blocks should be uninterrupted time behind closed doors in your office whenever possible (or away from your office).

Entering the work week with clarity on your goals, a clear plan of action, and sufficient time scheduled to work on them FEELS GOOD and will almost always have a positive impact on your productivity and results for the week.

Hit the ground running on Mondays .... get a positive start on your work week.  All the best to you for a GREAT week....
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
[email protected]
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

Posted via email from Andy Robinson's Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

3 Powerful and Very Effective Nonverbal Communication Techniques

We've all heard or read the research asserts the idea that less than 10% of our communication is verbal (more like 7%); the other 90+% of our expression comes from body language, facial expressions and tone of voice.  In addition to SAYING what you want to say, it is therefore very important that you also EXPRESS what you want to say.

For example, it's not always enough to simply say "yes" to someone and expect them to FULLY accept your agreement with their assertion, you also must EXPRESS "yes" to the other person.  Three very effective ways of EXPRESSING "yes" or expressing your interest in what what the other person is saying include:

• Nodding Your Head.  Nodding is one of the most universally understood human gestures.  Even people born blind will nod their head to say yes. So, when you say "yes" to someone, also nod your head AS you're saying yes.  When you agree with something that somebody else is saying, nod your head.  Your "yes" and acknowledgment will be more fully accepted and "heard" by the other party.

• Tilting Your Head.  Tiling your head to one side is also a universally recognized human gesture that signifies your INTEREST in what the other person is saying.  When someone else is speaking TO you, simply tilt your head slightly to one side to show interest AND nod your head if you're in agreement with what they are saying.

• Mirroring.  Mirroring is another very effective form of non-verbal communication that EXPRESSES interest in and attunement to the other person.  Mirroring is simply reflecting the other person's gestures back to them.  The goal is NOT to mimic their gestures exactly, but to attune yourself to their posture, their mood and their general body movement.  You'll be subtly communicating that you accept the other person and are receptive to their ideas.

Try some or all of the above during your next interaction.  Practice them going forward until they become a natural habit.  You'll definitely be perceived as a more effective communicator, and you should find that people in general will "open up" more to you.

Source: A wonderful book that I highly recommend: "The Power of Nice," written by the team of Linda Kaplan Thayler and Robin Koval.
_______________
Andy Robinson
Career Success Coach
CRG Leadership Institute LLC
239-285-5575
[email protected]
www.StrategicThinkingPartner.com
www.AndyRobinsonCareerTips.com
www.AndyRobinsonCoach.com

My Passion: "Helping people love what they do for a living and achieve lasting career success!"

LET'S CONNECT:
www.AndyOnLinkedIn.com
www.AndyOnTwitter.com

Posted via email from Andy Robinson's Career Success! Career Tip of the Day

Extreme Networking with LinkedIn - Tips from LinkedIn Aficionado Lewis Howes

Career Success Radio Show

Interview with Lewis Howes, Networking and LinkedIn Aficionado

Carrie and I had a wonderful interview with Lewis Howes, Networking and LinkedIn Aficionado and co-author of the book, "LinkedWorking: Generating Success on LinkedIn - The World’s Professional Networking Website."  Our interview aired on the Career Success Radio Show and was broadcast last Tuesday on Exceptional Wisdom Radio.  Please click on the images below to listen to an archived version of the interview.

   

Lewis is also the author of the online newsletter, Sports Networker, where he draws from his experience, knowledge and contacts as a professional football player.  In addition to this book, Lewis helps professionals and companies achieve greater return on the time they devote to LinkedIn and other social networking through training seminars, one-on-one coaching sessions and corporate consulting programs.  He also creates opportunities for online connections to gather face-to-face through his live “LinkedWorking” events around the country.

Lewis, a previous two sport collegiate All-American and is also the NCAA All-Division Record Holder for the most receiving yards in a single football game (418 yards, currently an unofficial World Record).   Since his retirement from professional football, he continues to stay involved in the sports industry with his work on SportsNetworker.com.

Book Review: Five Excellent Career Development Books

All of the following books are chock-full of great insights, excellent tips and offer innovate and highly practical ideas directed toward your professional development, career planning and management, and achievement of success (as you define it).  The recurring theme in all of these books is that each of us must take personal responsibility for our own situation and discipline ourselves to take the actions necessary to continue to advance our career. 

Take a quick look at all five and choose one that really "hits home" with your current situation and your near term career goals and objectives.  I highly recommend all of them and hope you gain some useful insights that you can put into action.

The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time

by Cheryl Richardson by Hay House

Hardcover

 

List Price: $15.95

Our Price: $9.40

Buy Now

 

This book by author Cheryl Richardson offers you 12 strategies to transform your life one month at a time. Designed as a practical, action-oriented program, each chapter challenges you to alter one behavior that keeps getting you in trouble.

Smart Networking: Attract a Following In Person and Online

by Liz Lynch by McGraw-Hill

Paperback

 

List Price: $16.95

Our Price: $8.66

Buy Now

 

The key to unlimited opportunities for your career starts with - Smart Networking. This is a wonderful guidebook for building business relationships in a wired world. Liz Lynch, founder of the Center for Networking Excellence, demystifies the process and help you put strategic and tactical systems in place that build connections worldwide and attract opportunities 24/7.  Also check out Liz's blog site at NetworkingExcellence.com

 

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The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness

by Noah St. John by Collins Business

Hardcover ~ Release Date: 2009-01-20

 

List Price: $19.99

Our Price: $11.58

Buy Now

 

Great leaders know how to lead by example and create trust. With this book, Noah St. John gives you a simple, proven way to become a true leader, both in your family and your professional life.

Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out On Top at Work

by Stephen Viscusi by Collins Business

Hardcover ~ Release Date: 2008-09-02

 

List Price: $19.95

Our Price: $10.43

Buy Now

 

For those fearful of the next headcount reduction, Viscusi offers a sound strategy for "surviving" and remaining a valuable team member. The 50 tactics he offers are intended to bulletproof a job, but they are also the same tactics that make one a valuable employee and enhance one's attractiveness to prospective headhunters.

Escape from Corporate America: A Practical Guide to Creating the Career of Your Dreams

by Pamela Skillings by Ballantine Books

Paperback ~ Release Date: 2008-05-13

 

List Price: $15.00

Our Price: $7.18

Buy Now

 

An informative guide to walking away from an established-albeit stultifying-job and forging a more rewarding career.  A multitude of questionnaires, exercises and worksheets helps readers determine their dream job, assess expenses and assets, and plot an escape plan to break free of corporate life.  The book also provides pointers to those readers who simply want to be happier in their current job.

Thoughts on Work/Life Balance - An Interview with Judy Martin of Work/Life Nation

Career Success Radio Show

Interview with Judy Martin, Host of Work/Life Nation and Emmy Award-Winning Broadcast Journalist

Carrie and I had a wonderful interview with Judy Martin, Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist and host of Work/Life Nation on the Career Success Radio Show, which was broadcast this past Tuesday at 4pm on ExceptionalWisdomRadio.com.  Please click on the images below to listen to an archived-version of the interview.

Judy talks about the subject of Work/Life Balance and how our work-lives and personal live have merged in a manner that we must remain aware of and proactively manage.  People are working longer and harder today than they've ever before, and the boundaries between our work and our personal time have become harder to distinguish.  Judy offers practical advice drawn from her own experiences and from experiences of others shared with her through her various media platforms.

Judy is an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist who has emerged as a reporter and public speaker -- giving an objective voice to social concerns, business news and the delicate balance of living and working with purpose, in an era of great uncertainty and chaos.  She is also a national radio contributor whose work has been heard on NPR News, The World, BBC Radio 3, The World Vision Report and The Marketplace Morning Report, where she spent nearly four years in the New York City Bureau. Judy also continues her affiliation with the News 12 Television Networks as an anchor/reporter.