8 Common Project Management Myths

Project management wasn’t always the first option for business grads, which led to few individuals well-versed in the profession.

This is probably why many myths and false assumptions exist about project management.

Lack of awareness is problematic because it can lead to faulty logic, poor decisions and heavy losses.

Here’s what you should know about project management that people many believe to be true but is, in reality, utterly false.

1. Project Managers Are In Charge

If you’re a project manager, you’ve probably thought this one to yourself many times as well. Project managers are tasked to look over their teams, handle daily activities and ensure things are running the way they should be minute-by-minute.

However, this doesn’t make project managers walking encyclopedias. There’s nothing wrong with project managers requiring and receiving feedback from clients, customers, team members or others. Should any suggestion or tip strike a project manager as one worth considering, the course of the project could change.

2. Certification Is Necessary

Project management certifications might be trending these days, but they were never really a requirement in the past. For this reason, many successful project management specialists with extensive experience but no certification still get hired to take on huge projects.

The certificate is seen as plus but not necessarily a requirement. In a field where years of experience and number of successful projects are good measures of potential success, certification is not a must.

3. What the Client Wants Comes First

The problem with this approach is that customers don’t always know what they want. Since your client or customer won’t always be an expert in the field, there’s a high chance he doesn’t know exactly how to get what she is looking for.

Instead of allowing the customer to dictate the project, it’s better to let him state what he wants out of the project. Ask them questions addressing the whats, ifs and whys. They will obviously have some goals in mind and it’s those goals you want to be focusing on, not the means.

4. Errors Are Always Human

The first reaction of a failed project is immediately to blame the team. However, there are many instances when a problem occurs because of something that was entirely out of their control.

For example, while the manager may come up with the method or way to approach the problem, the team will be required to follow orders. That being said, it’s possible failure could be the result of the procedure, methods or processes required to do the job.

Additionally, if the manager failed to select the right person with the right skills to do the job, again failure may be a result of incorrect delegation of tasks — not the fault of the employee.

5. All Projects Must Be Completed

Projects can stop for any reason, and in many ways it could be a wise choice to do so. Unforeseen events happen all the time and there’s no reason to force a project to its end just because you’ve committed.

It could be resource constraints, disputes or a sudden change in objective which you can’t meet. Instead of committing to something you know you can’t do anymore, it’s best to step aside and avoid risking failure.

Perhaps someone else with more means, more of a workforce, or better skills can finish up the project and satisfy the client’s needs. That would be better than submitting a failed project that displeases the client and damages your reputation.

6. Expertise in the Field is Necessary

It’s good to know have background knowledge in the kind of work that is required, but it doesn’t guarantee you will be able to hand in quality work.

Someone in HR or even a member of the staff could be perfectly suited for the job just because they have the “people skills” or management skills required to successfully supervise the project.

7. Time Constraints Means Speed Up

The first solution to this problem should always be to ask for an extension. Hurried projects can lead to reduced quality and submissions that were ineffective at solving the problem.

Project management is one of many disciplines where effectiveness should be of greater concern than efficiency.

8. Details Rule the Show

Knowing how to sift through the details is definitely a project manager’s job. But there’s something called “getting lost in the details” that prevents project managers from looking at the big picture.

Project managers, apart from being detail-oriented, should also be strategic thinkers. Strategic thinking leads to focus on the most important goals or objectives — which is crucial to solving the problem that initiated the project in the first place.

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Since the field is gaining popularity in business and education fast, it’s safe to say that these assumptions will eventually be put to rest. But before that happens, you need to play your part in busting them out!

(Photo by cpowell2 / CC BY)

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5 Ways to Improve Company Culture

A lot of businesses have a hard time quantifying their company culture.

In the absence of a formal vision and a strategy to support it, culture usually devolves into variations on the “golden rule.”

Be nice.

Respect your co-workers.

Avoid gossip.

Or, as Michael Scott of NBC’s The Office eloquently puts it:

My philosophy is basically this,and this is something that I live by, and I always have, and I always will: Don’t ever, for any reason, do anything, to anyone, for any reason, ever, no matter what, no matter where, or who, or who you are with, or where you are going, or where you’ve been, ever, for any reason whatsoever.”

But what if company culture could actually be a tangible, measurable reality in your organization, instead of a few cheap truisms, and what if your human resource management software had a lot to do with that?

Well, it can, and it does.

Defining Company Culture

“Company culture” usually makes you think of the trendsetters — companies like Google, Apple, Zappos, or HubSpot — where employees dress casually, set their own hours, drink beer on the clock. And where a constant horde of applicants is dying to get in.

It’s every HR director’s dream to have a company culture that simultaneously keeps employees engaged and attracts new talent. There are obvious benefits to this. For starters, you’ll lose fewer employees. The average likelihood of job turnover at an organization with strong work culture is only 14 percent, compared with almost 50 percent for organizations with weak culture.

A positive company culture also makes employees happy, which means they’ll work harder. Happy workers are 12 percent more productive than unhappy workers, according to the University of Warwick.

But how can you define and execute company culture in a way that addresses both its operational and psychological elements?

From a psychological standpoint, it’s pretty obvious: Care about your employees and factor their opinions into how the workplace is managed. For example, if employees express a preference for financial incentives over job perks, you might consider rolling out quarterly bonus program in lieu of a company outing.

As Whole Foods CEO John Mackey once said, “If you are lucky enough to be someone’s employer, then you have a moral obligation to make sure people look forward to coming to work in the morning.”

From an operational standpoint, company culture has a lot to do with the systems that connect your employees to the company, to their specific role and to their supervisors. That’s where HR software comes in.

Whether you’re using the most state-of-the-art system on the market or a legacy system that hasn’t been updated since Windows XP, your HR software affects the way employees perceive and engage with their job, how managers interact with employees, and by direct extension, company culture.

If you play your cards right, you can even use HR software to improve your company culture. Here are some tips for doing just that:

1. Improve Your Review Process

Most modern HR software provides tools for tracking employee performance against a set of metrics or learning objectives. Managers can use these tools, paired with regular reviews, to encourage goal-oriented progress and make sure each employee has a clear understanding of how to grow.

If your HR system includes an e-learning component, even better. You can not only encourage growth, but provide a framework for making it happen (manage training curriculum, courses, certifications and other learning activities).

Centralized performance management also gives you the ability to recognize excellence where it might otherwise go unnoticed. Unfortunately, a lot of companies fail to deliver here. About 49 percent say their performance review process is ineffective and needs to be overhauled.

2. Regularly Solicit Employee Feedback

Democracy is an essential component of any healthy company culture. As a COO or HR director, you need to know what your employees think, how they feel and what kind of opinions they have about the workplace.

Are they comfortable with recent executive decisions and new policies? Do they have ideas for improvement?

The right HR software can help you set up a feedback loop between management and employees to answer some of these questions. You can try sending out a monthly or quarterly survey and tracking responses in your HR system.

Just as you review your employees’ performance, this gives employees an opportunity to point out strengths and weaknesses that may help the company grow.

3. Let Employees Manage Themselves

Your employees shouldn’t have to come to the HR office every time they have a request — whether it be a day off, an insurance claim or simply updating their address. First of all, they’re adults. If you want them to be mature and take ownership of their role, don’t make them ask permission for every little thing.

Second of all, it’s a huge waste of time and energy, especially for smaller companies, where the “HR department” might be a single person.

That’s why most HR software for small business is designed to reduce bureaucracy and let employees manage things like time-off requests and benefits administration through a self-service portal. Self-service HR saves time, cuts costs and supports trust and autonomy in a company culture.

4. Build Solidarity Through Collaboration

If you’re unfamiliar with HR software, you may see it as a sophisticated filing cabinet and payroll ledger. Those are common functions of HR software, but not its limits.

One of the more innovative features becoming increasingly common is social-style collaboration. Borrowing from the mechanics of mainstream social media, this typically includes real-time news feeds, rich user profiles and the ability to comment on activity.

Employees can keep track of each other’s birthdays, work anniversaries, skills acquisitions and receive updates from leadership. This approach helps people invest and care more about what’s happening at work.

Managed properly, it can sustain the idea that your team is one unit made up of smaller pieces. This is especially valuable because recent research suggests 55 percent of employees prefer an open, collaborative work environment.

5. Hire People Who Fit Your Culture

At the end of the day, company culture isn’t about some slogan painted above your entryway or a code written in the employee handbook; it’s about people. The best way to maintain a healthy company culture is to hire people who will add value to that culture.

HR software can help you manage the recruitment, hiring and onboarding process in a way that attracts the right talent and screens candidates according to your cultural parameters. Decide what steps in this process will help you identify the best candidates, then use your HR software (which can be a talent management suite or a best-of-breed recruiting solution) to track and automate those steps.

For example, if you’re looking for outgoing team players, you could build a candidate assessment that measures these qualities through behavioral questions and scenario-based simulations.

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If you can’t afford to give your employees catered lunches, free beer and unlimited vacation, don’t fret. In all honesty, these Fortune 500 companies with slides in their cafeterias have set the bar a little high for the rest of us.

What you can do is take some basic steps toward creating a culture where your workers feel trusted, supported and empowered. And with the right HR software in place, taking those steps will be much easier.

(Photo by StartupStockPhotos / CC BY)

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4 Ways to Lower Home Office Expenses

Working from home definitely has its benefits.

But there are some things that are nice about working in an office that people often overlook, like not having to pay for toilet paper.

One of the big things a lot of freelancers as people who work from home don’t consider is that their utility bills will increase once they work from home.

Paying for the extra gas and electricity you’ll be using can come as a bit of a shock and maybe not one you budgeted for, so this handy guide has been designed to help lower your bills as the temperatures drop.

1. Don’t Be Wasteful

Beginning with the obvious, it cannot be ignored that the more energy you use the higher your energy bills will be. Knowing exactly how much energy you are wasting, however, is sometimes less obvious.

For example, did you know that a PC monitor that is left on overnight can waste enough energy to print off over 500 pages. And those handy electric heaters actually generate twice as much greenhouse gas as central heating. They’re also around three times more expensive to run!

It is easy to assume that there’s no harm in leaving things switched on when they’re not in use, but the facts speak for themselves.

2. Invest in Smart Meters

A lot has been made of the benefits that these devices can have in homes. Smart meters are simply an upgrade on a traditional meter found in most houses.

The difference is that a smart meter measures your energy consumption and sends meter readings to your energy supplier automatically, meaning you don’t have to estimate usage. One less thing to worry about!

By helping you better monitor your energy usage, identifying periods of high consumption, smart meters can help you save money by giving you a better idea of how much power you’re using, and more importantly, wasting.

3. Green-Proof Your Home

Green-proofing your home needn’t be expensive, time consuming or disruptive — even the smallest changes can make a big difference.

Here are a few quick fixes:

• Attach draught-proof strips to doors — This traps warm air inside a room. It’ll help save money on your gas bills as your home won’t be cooling down as quickly, even if outside temperatures plummet.
• Let your radiators breathe — Try to avoid putting furniture in front of the radiator as it’ll absorb heat and make your radiator less efficient at heating the room. If you don’t have double-glazing, keep the radiators under windows switched off or very low, as rising heat will be lost through the window.
• Switch to LED lighting – LED lights can give you an annual saving of almost $5 per bulb. It may not sound like much but even if you only have 15 bulbs in your entire house, you could save an extra $70 a year, which isn’t bad when you consider that all you’ve done is put a different box of bulbs in your shopping cart.
• Put on a sweater – It’s what your mother always said, but by wearing some extra layers you can turn the heating down. It will help you reduce your home energy costs and allow you to fully appreciate the perks of working from home — no dress code!

4. Run a Competitor Analysis

Every businessperson knows that in order to be the best, you have to check out the competition and make sure that you are doing everything better than they are.  So surely if you want the best energy deal, you need to make sure no competitors are offering something better.

For far too long, people have been plodding along on a rollover energy tariff, paying far too much for their gas and electricity in the process. However, thanks to increasing awareness, it appears that we are finally realizing that we’ve been missing something.

And thanks to the Internet, it is now quicker and easier than ever to compare energy prices, so there really is no excuse.

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As the weather starts to turn, it’s not a bad time to get in the habit of conservation. With the help of a few tips, you can avoid the shock of paying for your own utilities all day.

(Photo by Markgraf-Ave / CC BY)

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4 Apps to Manage Your Time

Do you have a lot to do but find yourself unable to get as much done as you wanted?

If so, you might need some help with time management.

Time management skills aren’t something everyone has.

Some of us don’t do well with a schedule and often lose track of time.

With a little practice and some useful tools, you can learn to manage your time more effectively. By doing so, your life will become a lot easier and, overall, more enjoyable.

You’ll have time to get everything that’s on your agenda done, so you can spend less time stressing over it and more time reaping the rewards of your hard work.

Technology has brought about more tools than we could’ve ever imagined. You can now get help for almost everything just by checking your smartphone’s app store.

Apps can now keep you organized without having to carry around bulky planners. No need for paper calendars anymore either, as your smartphone has its own that will even send you reminders.

Since you might not have the time on your hands to do the research yourself, here’s a list of five apps to help you manage your time.

1. RescueTime

It’s easy to get caught up browsing the Internet. Sometimes you may not even realize how long you’re actually spending scrolling through your news feed on Facebook.

At the same time, you might be wasting your day away playing a popular gaming app, such as Clash of Clans or Candy Crush Saga, without even realizing that you’ve been playing for more than an hour.

Time really does fly when you’re having fun, so to prevent this from happening (when you’re online at least), RescueTime will keep track of your time spent on apps and websites.

RescueTime is available for both your PC and your smartphone, so you can track your time whether you’re away from home or not. You can set daily goals and alarms to ensure you don’t spend more time on certain websites or apps than you reasonably should.

It also provides detailed reports as to what you spent your time on, so you can easily know if you are reaching your goals or not. You can also use it to know which areas you need to work on. Another feature that makes it useful is that it will send you a weekly email summary and productivity score.

If you decide to partake in RescueTime Premium, you’ll also be able to block distracting websites, receive tailored notifications and reminders, and track and log your offline activity (for example, the time you spend on phone calls).

RescueTime Premium can be purchased for $9 per month or $72 per year, and the option of a free, 14-day trial is available. Even without the premium version, RescueTime is sure to be one of the most helpful tools for managing your time.

2. Evernote

Evernote is a powerful organization tool that can help you manage your time. You can write notes, tag them and store them in digital notebooks; easily find any of your saved information by utilizing their search feature; write to-do lists; share your notes and ideas with others without leaving the app; and more.

Evernote even lets you clip web articles so you can read them later or look back on particular information that might have interested you without having to find the webpage again.

Because Evernote can sync across all of your devices, you’ll never have to go without it. Being disorganized can take up a lot of time, especially when you’re searching for notes, websites, etc.

As long as you have Evernote by your side, you’ll never have to worry about wasting tons of time trying to find the memos or lists you’ve written. If you want additional features, you can opt in for one of Evernote’s premium versions, which cost $24.99 per year.

3. Priority Matrix

Based on the Eisenhower method, Priority Matrix allows you to easily keep track of your tasks by dividing them into four different quadrants. By prioritizing them based on importance, you’ll be able to focus on what needs to be done immediately versus what can wait until later.

This app will also help you keep track of important emails, and it’ll deliver daily reports that advise you which tasks you should work on next.

Available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, Priority Matrix costs $10 per month for personal use, though other subscription plans are offered too for those who would like to share their task lists with others.

An added bonus of using Priority Matrix is that you will be able to use the app both offline and online, so you’ll never have to go without it. There’s also a 14-day free trial available to see if it’s worth it for you.

4. MyLifeOrganized

MyLifeOrganized is an organization app that can help you manage your time by allowing you to create and keep track of your to-do lists. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to use on any device, and it can be synced across all of them.

One of the most useful features it has is its location-based reminders, which will send you notifications when you arrive to specific locations. For example, it will send you your shopping list when you arrive at the store.

MyLifeOrganized offers both a free and a paid professional version, which cost under $10 for your smartphone.

Time’s A Tickin’

The four apps outlined in this article should help you immensely when it comes to managing your time. Don’t worry if you still aren’t meeting your goals at first; time management takes practice. You’ll eventually get the hang of it and become a pro at utilizing your time effectively.

(Photo by StockSnap / CC BY)

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7 Tips for Writing the Best Cover Letter

Here’s a fact — more and more employers ask for cover letters from their job applicants.

And here’s another thing — most job seekers quit applying to posts asking for cover letters.

They do this for several reasons.

Some don’t know what and how to write, some don’t want to invest the time, and others are just lazy.

If you are not part of the quitting category and want to try your best, here are seven useful tips on how to come up with an impressive cover letter.

1. Don’t Repeat Aspects of Your Resume

The cover letter should be regarded as an opportunity to give more specific details about your working experience and responsibilities. So don’t waste it on repeating the same things you’ve already mentioned in your CV.

Instead, state how each job has improved your skills and how each position has contributed to your professional development. In the end, point out why you are a great and appropriate candidate for that certain position.

2. Emphasize Your Strengths

In order to stand out from the crowd, create a special section of the text dedicated to future career plans. This tells a lot about a person — it showcases his/her ambitions, dreams and willingness to make professional effort.

After this, continue by mentioning several actual things you could do best from the position offered of the company. Managers like individuals with clear visions and committed attitude.

Speaking of strengths, candidates often make a big mistake by apologizing for lacking some specific skills required by the employer. But why should one draw attention toward the negative aspects of his resume? Instead, emphasize several transferable abilities and stay enthusiastic about the position.

3. Use Testimonials & Recommendations

If the colleagues or the boss have ever said something remarkable and memorable about you, include those words in the cover letter. It is always good to know that candidates have been appreciated at their last job. This is a proof of hard work and team integration.

Also, if you have any official recommendations from previous managers, it would be a weigh heavily in your favor. Send them along with your cover letter.

4. Create Custom Cover Letters

Write a different cover letter for each job you are applying to, and underline different skills for each of them. You must do this because every job requires a different set of abilities.

Additionally, this becomes vital at some point — managers can spot template letters from the first two lines. The next thing they do is toss them in the trash.

They are completely right — if the candidate didn’t take the time to write a text especially for that position, why should the employer make the effort of reading it?

5. Adapt Your Writing Style

Before starting to write, go through a short research process. Look online for the company and observe the style of its home page.

Do they use rigid presentations or out-of-the-box, modern and unconventional ones? Adapt the style of your cover letter to the one from their website.

This will your text resonate more with the team and help them recognize “one of theirs.” As a result, the chances of being called in for an interview will be much higher.

6. Get Over the Fear

All candidates have a difficult time when it comes to talking about themselves. They would rather solve practical tests than think about personal flaws and strengths.

But here’s a simple tip that will help you overcome this obstacle: Write the letter in third person, as if someone else were describing you.

Choose the perspective of a friend, old professor or ex-employer. Just don’t forget to change it back to first person before submitting it!

7. Proofread & Edit

This final step is extremely important. Under no circumstances should you hit the send button before proofreading your cover letter.

Any tiny mistake can lead to a rejection, as HR managers usually have high-level demands. So take the time to correct and improve the text on your own, or hire professional assistance. There are online writing services out there specializing in improving resumes and cover letters for best results.

Another great idea is to ask a friend to read the application and point out the weak spots. Take advantage of his/her objective view, and try to make the necessary changes.

Also, online tools can help you out by underlining mistakes like spelling, long phrases, passive voice, pretentious words and so on.

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Before starting to complete a cover letter, take these tips into consideration. They will increase the chances of being picked and called in for interviews.

Just remember to always promote your skills properly, and have faith that the right job is out there for you!

(Photo by StartupStockPhotos / CC BY)

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11 Tips for Better Brainstorming

What’s the first recommendation you get when you ask for advice on creative thinking?
Brainstorm!

This technique has received so much attention over the years that we’ve forgotten all about its foundational principles.

Not all online guides and resources have it figured out.

Brainstorming is much more than launching an app and noting your thoughts away.

Alex Faickney Osborn defined precise tenets when he developed the brainstorming technique (Applied Imagination, 1953). Although the main principles were set decades ago, they are still very effective. There is no point in diverging too much.

Principles of Proper Brainstorming

Osborn’s method of brainstorming is founded upon two principles:

• Deferring judgment
• Reaching for quantity

When you neglect all principles of logic and you try to get as many ideas as possible, you’ll stimulate the creative flow. These two main principles are achieved through the four rules of brainstorming:

• Withholding Criticism — When you start brainstorming, you should step away from your inner critic. Do not try to think about the ideas you get, and do not ditch a single one of them, even if it seems irrelevant. Just focus on adding more ideas on the list, and save the criticism for later.
• Focusing on Quantity — Brainstorming is one of the rare methods that focus on quantity instead of quality. This is the rule that Osborn established: maximum quantity breeds quality. You need to generate a great number of ideas, and then reduce them to an outstanding solution!
• Combining and Improving Ideas — There is hardly an idea that’s entirely unique. However, when you combine different ideas, you can come up with a fresh concept. You need to encourage the process of association once you get a decent list of ideas.
• Encouraging Unusual Ideas —Stimulate your mind to come up with unexpected ideas. Try to approach the topic from an unusual angle and make some assumptions. Creativity is all about discovering new ways of thinking; the technique of brainstorming should support that process.

How to Brainstorm

Tom Kelley is another expert on innovation who made immense contributions to the concept of brainstorming. If you want to master this technique, then you should definitely read his book The Art of Innovation.

You don’t have enough time to read an entire book? Then you’ll surely appreciate the following brainstorming guidelines inspired by Kelley’s approach.

1. Stand Up! When you are relaxed in a comfortable sitting position, your mind is focused on the task at hand. That’s not what you need at this point. You want to be more energetic, faster, and engaged in creative thinking. Stand up or even walk around the room. You’ll immediately stimulate your thoughts to flow faster.

2. You Need Space! Your mind’s patterns are a reflection of your mood. If the work space is suffocating, your ideas will be narrow as well. Try brainstorming outside or in a big, clean room. You’ll immediately notice the difference.

3. Be Crazy! Creativity never complies with the rules of mediocrity. Challenge yourself and the team members to get out of the box!

4. Plan! A brainstorming session usually takes 70-75 minutes. Use the first 10-15 minutes to start a relaxed discussion, explain the topic and issues to the participants and get them into thinking mode. Then, use the following hour for some real brainstorming.

5. Communicate with the Right People! You need to select your team very, very carefully. Not everyone can make great contributions to the brainstorming process. Some people will just slow you down, while others will get on your nerves.

The members of the brainstorming team won’t be in charge for the final decisions, so you should specifically instruct them to focus on the initial stages of generating ideas. Don’t hesitate to collaborate with people you don’t know. As long as they are have the needed knowledge and experience, they will give you a different perspective on the matter.

6. Adjust the Size of the Team. Jeff Bezos, a successful entrepreneur and investor, has a great rule you can follow: If you can’t feed a team with two pizzas, then it’s too big!

7. Warm Up! You can’t get into ‘brainstorming mode’ whenever you decide to. Unfortunately, your mind doesn’t have a switch.

Here is one way of warming up: Find a long word in the dictionary, and try to think of as many words as possible with the same letters. Give yourself five minutes, and you’ll gradually increase your brain’s activity.

8. Do Not Judge And Criticize! It doesn’t matter whether you’re brainstorming alone or in a team; you need to embrace the possibilities and take all ideas into consideration!

9. Stick to the ‘Third Third’ Principle! Once you get enough ideas, you need to start the selection process. According to the ‘third third’ principle, the first third of your ideas will be the most obvious picks.

When you analyze the list, you’ll notice that you started thinking more creatively when you were coming up with the second third of ideas, but the third third contains the most unusual and unexpected thoughts.

10. Take Notes! Make sure to supply the team with pens, sticky notes, smartphone apps and other necessary tools that enable them to capture all ideas.

11. Finish on a High Note. The brainstorming process doesn’t end with a single session. You need to inspire yourself and everyone else to seek even more creative solutions.

Back to the Basics

There is no need to complicate a process that should remain simple and effective. When you follow the basic principles of brainstorming, you’ll realize that you don’t need different apps and tools to inspire yourself to get more ideas. All you need is a positive attitude!

(Photo by Aurélia/ CC BY)

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How to Change Careers

A career change, whether by choice or by force, is always intimidating.

No matter how long you have spent in your current profession, if your education, training and experience are in that field, moving to another one feels like starting over.

But rather than seeing a career transition as starting over or losing everything you’ve worked for, it’s important to think of it instead as a fresh start.

It’s a chance to begin a new career and bring into it the wisdom you probably wish you had when you began your previous one.

Still, surviving a career transition will involve a great deal more than wishful thinking and a new resume. You’ll need a plan to make your way through the change and send yourself on an upward trajectory in your new field.

That plan should definitely include the following strategies, which can help you get your footing sooner rather than later.

1. Build Your Education and Experience

When you start a new career, you’ll most likely be lacking two things necessary to land a good job in your new field: Education and Experience.

One of your first focuses should be on building up those two things as quickly as possible.

For education, this doesn’t necessarily mean a trip to university. Depending on the field, a trade school or community college, both of which are more affordable and require fewer hours, may be more appropriate.

For experience, temping can be a powerful resource. Signing up with a temp agency in your field will let you get started and see the inner workings of the business, all the while building experience and earning a paycheck.

Likewise, apprenticeships may be a good way to build both, though many professions don’t have apprenticeship programs.

2. Network Constantly

Networking is absolutely crucial in any career change. Getting your resume and business card into the hands of as many relevant people as possible is great, but face time with prospective employers is even better.

The sooner you start networking the better, and that means going to industry events in your area, visiting companies and applying to every job you qualify for.

When choosing where to focus your efforts, you’ll likely want to focus on small to medium sized companies. Larger firms typically have very rigid hiring practices that value numbers over personality. Smaller companies provide more opportunities for an upstart to enter as they can more easily bend the rules to let in a promising candidate that doesn’t meet all the criteria.

Likewise, don’t hesitate to look to your friends and family. Those who already know you may be more likely to give you a shot.

3. Focus on Overlapping Skills

When choosing what skills and experiences to put forward in your resume and in your networking, focus on skills that have a natural overlap. For example, if you’re talented at marketing, writing, working with computers, etc., there’s a good chance at least some position in your new field can use those talents.

An overlapping skill that fills a need in a company can be your foot in the door to a new field. Being good at working with customers, for example, is useful in any job that is consumer-facing, from cashier to doctor.

Tout the useful skills you have now, and use them to help you build the skills you need to grow in your new field.

4. Persistence Pays Off

Standing apart from other candidates when you’re entering a new field is challenging so you will need to be persistent and determined. Keeping after desirable companies and pushing your name in front of recruiters is going to be key.

The problem is that many might mistake a genuine desire for a career change for desperation. When applying for a job that doesn’t fit your resume, it can seem like you’re applying to any job available in hopes of finding anything.

However, if you’re determined you can prove your sincerity, you can move past that and be seen as a more serious candidate.

No new field is going to immediately accept you unless you are fortunate enough to have friends or family willing to bring you on. Instead, treat this career change as a marathon, not a sprint, and focus on proving that you have the determination and drive to make it work.

Employers will be impressed by that and may be more willing to take a chance on you.

Conclusions

All in all, a career change is never easy. But if you have the right mindset and approach, you can make the transition go much more smoothly. By building up your experience in the field, looking for natural overlaps between your skills and the field you’re trying to enter, and networking relentlessly, you can break into almost any profession.

It will take time, and it will take dedication, but with the right plan and the right amount of effort, a career change is not just survivable, but an opportunity to thrive.

(Photo by moleshko / CC BY)

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Boost Your Confidence with 1 Thing

Admit it, you’re in a funk and feeling a lack of motivation or excitement for your career right now.

You rationalize that your job isn’t that bad.

You tell yourself you just need to pay your dues to get where you want to be.

When you feel like things are out of your control, it’s easy to simply ignore the problem and try to focus on football or throw yourself into fun plans with your friends.

If you’re honest with yourself, then you’ll realize the constant fun and ignoring the direction you are going in your life doesn’t really bring you pleasure.

There is a way to get out of the rut and boost your confidence, without waiting for things to magically fall into place.

The Power of Progress

A Harvard Business Review study found that people aren’t driven by high pressure and fear at work. People are more productive when their inner work lives are positive.

They perform more when they are happy, are intrinsically motivated by the work itself, and have a positive perception of their coworkers and the company.

Now, how do you achieve a positive inner work life? This leads us to the power of the Progress Principle.

In the Harvard Business Review study, they found people were in a much better mood after they had made small steps forward toward a goal.

On the flip side, those who had a rough day and a poor mood usually experienced a setback toward their goals.

Our brains are wired to crave rewards and quick wins. When we don’t feel any progress forward in some way, it can feel defeating. There is nothing worse than feeling stagnant.

Minor Milestone Motivation Hack

Sometimes when you think about your goals, you imagine how good it would feel to reach a major long-term goal you have been dreaming about. These big wins are amazing, but they don’t happen very often.

The truth is, you can experience mood boosts from hitting small milestones that are part of the larger goal. These are small moves that may go unnoticed but are still necessary to make your way closer to grand prize.

There is one rule for the Progress Principle to work in boosting your confidence and motivation. You must find meaning in the work you are progressing toward.

For example, if you are a grocery bagger and you increase the progress of how quickly you bag groceries, then you still just see more groceries to bag.

That’s not very motivating, is it?

The first step for this principle to work is: You must identify what your meaningful goal will be. The overall goal must be something that you can get excited about. Don’t be afraid to think big.

The Power of Thinking Bigger

For some of you, thinking big is tough. You have your inner critic who doubts you will ever accomplish anything too significant.

When setting your large goal, the key is to not worry about how you will make it happen. You want to stick with a goal that is meaningful and exciting.

Let’s pretend you want to be a real estate investor. You may not even have a real estate license right now or any capital to invest. That’s OK.

Make one step today:

• Buy a book
• Research the process of getting your license
• Reach out to a friend in real estate

This doesn’t have to be a huge leap, just something small that moves you forward. When you do that one thing every day, you feel the power of momentum.

This momentum builds your confidence because you can now see where you are going instead of focusing on being stuck in the rut you are in. You are focusing on growth.

Growth toward meaningful goals is what ultimately boosts your confidence. It doesn’t matter if you are an executive or a college grad. The Progress Principle applies to everyone.

Making it Happen

Feeling stuck or stagnant in your career is deflating to your confidence. The key is to remember that you can control how you feel with your actions.

Don’t wait around for your manager or your company to pull you out of this rut. Take action today, and figure out what big goal motivates you.

Having a vision to move toward will make all the difference in your everyday confidence and motivation. Don’t let your self-doubt hold you back from achieving the confidence you deserve.

Once you figure out what big goal means the most to you, then take action today. Move forward one step and see how that makes you feel. I promise you’ll feel the power of progress.

The real power of the Progress Principle isn’t about the amount of progress. You don’t have to make leaps forward every day.

Just one small milestone. Every single day.

Over time, you will look back and be in awe of what you have achieved.

(Photo by Benie Vison / CC BY)

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7 LinkedIn Mistakes To Avoid

LinkedIn has become a pivotal tool when searching for a job and offers users multiple benefits.

Your LinkedIn presence is becoming more and more crucial.

A respectable presence on the Internet is required as internal and external recruiters use it to source their talent.

In this day and age, it is an honest matter of brand or be branded.

If you fail to follow the best practices of a successful job search with LinkedIn professionals, they will assume:

• You are not tech-savvy enough to know how to use social media
• You do not have any truly notable achievements or accomplishments
• You have something to hide

It is merely not enough to have an up to-date-name and job title to merit a presence in social media.

LinkedIn can help you network efficiently. It allows you to connect with contacts who may assist with identifying job opportunities, referrals, and offer advice and information.

Many LinkedIn mistakes could be major professional liabilities, which can ultimately damage your chances of getting a job and harm your professional image. Here are a list of the most common mistakes people make on LinkedIn, as well as how to identify and fix them before they become fatal to your job search.

1. Do Not Accept All Connections

Many people are mistaken when they think the bigger the network, the better it looks. This is incorrect when you are a job seeker. Although it is great to have a big network of connections, they must be appropriate connections; in this case, it definitely is quality over quantity.

You need to exhibit to potential employers and recruiters that you have connections in a relevant sector and industry. For instance, if you are competing for a job in a particular field, but your profile shows that 90 percent of your connections are in random fields unrelated to the job, it looks, to employers and recruiters, like you are not well-connected for the position.

2. Absence Of Profile Picture

When searching for a job, one of the most important things to do is ensure you make a good impression. The very first thing on LinkedIn to help you do that is your profile picture. There are a surprising number of profiles that do not have an image at all.

Failing to fully optimize your LinkedIn profile with a picture has the same effect online as coming to a meeting dressed inappropriately. People will be more likely to click on your profile if you have a picture than if you don’t have one.

Ensure your photo is up to date, clear, professional and a true expression of you. Remember a smile can also go a long way. If you are a casual kind of person, no one expects to see you in a suit. Dress appropriately for how you are marketing yourself.

In an online world, it is not unusual to do business with someone we have not yet met. The connection provided by a photo is a warm and welcoming reception that will go a long way.

3. Not Personalizing Communication

Most LinkedIn users complain about the impersonal invitations they receive. When you connect with someone for the first time on LinkedIn, it is strongly advised not to use the generic messages suggested.

Take the time to write something personalized. It will make the recipient more open to your request, and the message feels a lot less like spam and a lot more directed and personal. This shows the recipient that your request is more personal and not a mass message to everyone to simply grow your connections.

4. Neglecting Your LinkedIn Summary

Many of our prepared resumes begin with a summary section. It is supposed to highlight your career and achievements and show your value proposition.

The same goes for your LinkedIn profile — it summarizes your career for potential employers. It is the section of your LinkedIn that sells yourself to the employer. So it is essential to have a great summary to land a great job.

Surprisingly, a lot of people prefer to leave out their summary. This is another fatal mistake and can hamper the impressions your LinkedIn profile might have to potential employers. Ensure you add a comprehensive summary to make your profile more attractive for the employers.

5. No Past Work Experience

Unless you have never had a job and are finding your first job, you should share all your experiences with potential employers. Include all of your past experiences on your LinkedIn profile; this includes work experience as well as education.

There are a number of LinkedIn profiles that do not include these details. Even if you have changed your field of work, you should not eliminate these details from your network as potential employers might find this information useful.

6. Neglecting To Use LinkedIn

The number of professionals and businesses who ignore this platform and do not leverage it to its full capacity is very common. LinkedIn is a platform that allows you to connect with an abundance of new potential customers, find new partners to help grow your organization, connect with the media to build your personal brand, and even a way to hire new staff and connect with future employees and employers.

7. Ignoring Privacy Settings

LinkedIn has its own security settings, and it can really be essential at times, like when you are looking for a new job and need to connect with new people. You will have different types of conversations with people that you may not want your current employer to know about.

If your current employer is in your LinkedIn circle, keep these conversations hidden by using the privacy settings in LinkedIn. Of course, it is also important to make your profile public so you can be located by potential connections, prospective employers and recruiters so they are able to access your information.

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Your LinkedIn profile needs to have the quality and professionalism to appeal to the prospective employer. Keep this in mind while creating your profile and ensure that you are marketing yourself in the best possible manner.

If you are able to do this successfully, you will enhance your chances of landing a great career in no time. But be aware of these mistakes — do your best to avoid them to ensure the best results.

(Photo by Niek Verlaan / CC BY)