Real life job search

Do your clients think you are inaccessible?

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Ridiculous you say?  Hhhmmm…

  • Does it take several phone calls to get in touch with you? 
  • Does it take longer than 24 to 48 hours to respond to your voice mail messages or emails?
  • Do you normally use the excuses “I’m too busy.” OR “I don’t have the time?”
  • If so, you probably do not know this Law of poor customer service:
    The longer it takes for you to return a call or respond to an email, the more the issue will grow exponentially larger.

 Try this instead:

Treat your phone and email with reverence. Phone messages and email messages from clients and prospective clients are the life blood of your business. Prompt responses are a good opportunity to enhance the value you provide to your clients. It’s also a great way to up-sell and cross-sell any additional products and services that they may need, but do not realize you offer.

All clients are important. Rank ordering clients as to whom you will contact based upon revenues will work only until you lose the BIG client. Then, you’ll need to re-group and try to re-capture smaller clients who found excellent customer service with your competition while you focused on the BIG client.

Keep meetings. Continually canceling, not being prepared, and not taking responsibility for ensuring the client feels valued are good excuses for your clients to seek out other vendors. It’s easier and less expensive to keep good clients, then to go and find new ones.

Blitz them with customer service. We falsely assume, with devastating results, that everyone knows how to be a good representative of the company. Train all employees to be on the same page, and work together for the benefit of the client. Contact me for details … it will save you many clients! JLSeibly@gmail.com

©Jeannette Seibly, 2010

Does perfectionism get in the way of results?

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Perfectionism is a relative term depending upon your viewpoint. Innovative types don’t like to follow the rules. They view others as perfectionists when they ask too many questions or are unable to see the potential success of the venture in the same way they see it. Conversely, the “dot every I and cross every T” type of person looks at others as being irresponsible and unable to plan appropriately — not perfect enough in their thought processes. They simply squash any ideas that don’t match their stringent point of view.

We are all perfectionists at some level! We love to make things harder than they are. We wait for the perfect time in our lives when the economy is good, life circumstances are stable. We wait to be working for the right company, with the right boss and co-workers. In the meantime, we postpone fulfilling our goals and dreams. People stop listening to our ideas. We are upset when others “take our ideas” and are successful!

Attitude The “perfect time” is an attitude. Fulfillment of any business venture or project requires that we focus and follow through. Declare goals. Write-down specific action steps. There is no perfect plan that will prevent inevitable challenges.  Many of us love to make systems harder than they are.  We, make working with others more difficult than it needs to be.  Hiring a coach will provide invaluable simple and strategic insights.

Integrity and ethical behaviors required.  Breakdowns are to be expected, regardless of the “perfect” plan design.  Short-cuts will normally get you in trouble in the long run. Ignoring key issues now may hurt your future reputation, financial solvency, and the ability to attract and retain top performers.  Instead of relying upon your own internal monologue of what is right or wrong, talk through challenges with your business mentor.  Use the opportunity to clarify your perspective and the required action needed to avoid further pitfalls.

Learn when to quickly move forward, and when to strategically wait.  Many people self-sabotage when the results don’t fit their “perfect” view of how they should look. Instead of dealing with the facts, they play spider-solitaire or spend a lot of time surfing the Internet. They blame their lack of focused action upon not having enough: information, time, money, or opportunities. Honor your plan, even if it seems like you’re taking baby-steps. You’ll get there!

Enjoy your achievements and the accomplishments of others, now.  Too often we excuse the importance of acknowledgement due to our ambivalent feelings about being in the spot-light, even for a moment. Appreciate others’ successes and accept their congratulatory wishes. Building upon success keeps you moving forward, and encourages the right people to work with you.

 ©Jeannette Seibly, 2010

Is attracting top performers problematic?

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Or, are you a top performer who is having trouble finding your next opportunity?   The first place to inspect about yourself and/or your company, is how you talk about your employees, customers, prospects, family members, neighbors and/or competition. While you may believe using colloquialisms, profanity, or slang sounds smart, entertaining, or knowledgeable, the reality is that it provides the opposite effect.

Clean up your labeling. Name-calling, regardless of your excuse, is harmful and hurtful. It sends a negative message to others, consciously or unconsciously, about your emotional intelligence. It actually will bolster business if you speak authentically about others in a positive manner, even when they’ve made a mistake.

People are a valuable resource. When you honor everyone (and your company’s Vision and Mission statements) regardless of gender, gender choices, racial, religious and/or ethical differences, you’ll be amazed by the difference it makes. Calling women and men, girls and boys, sounds demeaning after the age of 16. Pronounce people’s names correctly. Stay away using nicknames. Be sensitive to the fact that employees may be offended and uncomfortable telling you or others to stop. As a business owner or executive, you need to ensure all people are treated with respect. Harassment suits are costly.

Take charge of your own anger. Using anger as your excuse doesn’t work, since everyone deals with some level of anger due to life experiences. Get help to find a creative way to use the negative energy in a positive manner to help others. 

Take responsibility.  In your meetings, whether one-on-one or in groups, make sure that people are referred to respectfully. Ensure any name calling is stopped, immediately. Something said in jest can actually cost you a pricey lawsuit or a million dollar client!

(c)Jeannette Seibly, 2010

Work smarter, not harder

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Do you limit your own success by resisting new ideas about ways to reduce your work challenges?  Are you convinced that, by working hard or being incredibly busy, you will make more money, get that new client (or promotion)?  We often tend to ignore anyone that doesn’t buy into our excuses for not achieving our desired results.  We may fail to realize that working smarter—not harder–is the keystone to achieving great results. 

1. Brainstorm ALL ideas.  What may initially seem like a repetitive conversation can trigger new solutions.  While you are generating new ideas, do not fall into the insidious trap of prematurely deciding good vs. bad, right vs. wrong, or yes vs. no.

2. Listen to the advice of others, selectively.  While everyone and anyone can help us if we truly listen, many times we’ll use the excuse of needing more information instead of taking the necessary actions we know we need to take to resolve the issue or launch the new project.

3. Multi-tasking is a myth.  Being a problem solver requires us to listen and set aside our other activities and thoughts during the conversation.  Thinking about our next meeting, playing spider solitaire or reading emails while in a conversation will have us miss nuances that could mean great solutions.  Worse, the other person in these conversations stops talking about anything significant; they know you’re not really listening! 

(c)Jeannette Seibly, 2010

Rewire your reactions to your boss

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Bosses are human too, or so they (like us) often forget. Many employees have good, or at least tolerable bosses that listen to employee ideas.  It’s particularly difficult to get your ideas and points across when you have a bad boss.  If you have this challenge, consider whether it could be your attitude or behavior that’s the cause:

1)     Before a conversation with your boss, practice in front of a mirror; pay particular attention to your facial expressions.  Tape record what you wish to say, and listen to the words you choose. Some words can cause an emotional reaction before your idea is fully presented.

2)     Listen to learn.  Most people are reactionary.  Someone says “x” and we’re off talking about “y” before the person has had a chance to complete their first sentence.  Listen carefully to what they have to say.  Pause and count to three before responding, after they’ve completed talking.

3)     Stick to the facts. We can become emotionally charged on certain issues.  Before your meeting or presentation to your boss, research the facts, so that you have objective points.  Be able to provide possible solutions and be open to considering new options you hadn’t considered.

(c)Jeannette Seibly 2010

Fear of Failure Vs. Fear of Success — What’s the “dif” for my career?

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The difference simply depends upon your mindset.  Are you more likely to think in negative terms (e.g., failure) or positive terms (e.g., success)?  Failure is on the same continuum as success.  Fear is used to mask the reality of what you’d truly love to do, be or have, and prevents us from taking responsibility for our career choices.

When people are in low paying jobs where they are miserable, and use their kids’ expenses (kids is the “politically correct” excuse right now) or other excuses for not hiring a career coach to get a much better paying job that they will love, it is a reflection of them not taking responsibility for their career.

We all have a committee of one in our head (aka ego) that loves to chatter.  This chatter reflects conscious and unconscious thought patterns, and reinforces the limiting fears and concerns.  Or, it supports the illusion that you will have a great career someday when other things change.  This keeps us from becoming responsible for our chatter and pursuing a great career: work smarter, have financial freedom, and realize our dreams now. 

If we were to delve slightly deeper into our chatter, we would find that the fear is:

  • normally a fear of the unknown,
  • not being in control of a situation,
  • being right that others are wrong, or
  • avoiding someone else’s poor opinion of us.

 If we were to delve slightly further, you would find that the true fear is:

  • not saying the right thing in an interview,
  • not having your ideas heard,
  • others not making the right decisions on your behalf,
  • not being clear about your career direction,
  • effectively dealing with difficult bosses, employees or co-workers, and/or
  • making difficult ethical decisions.

The point is that you need to get real about your true fear(s).  When you can specifically state what you fear in your job or having a career that you enjoy, then you can make a positive and profound difference.

Why?  What you focus on will expand.  If you focus on fear, it will consume you, hinder any forward movement and impede your decision-making.  If you focus on your goals and move forward with a specific plan in place, confidence will replace fear.

Steps for Positive Results:

1)     Declare a positive mantra.  This will start you thinking in a different manner.  Without doing so, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to move on to Step Two since your excuses are designed to prevent you from changing anything.

2)     Hire a coach.  WHY?  Usually you will make it harder than it needs to be to achieve results on your own.  We inevitably get in our own way.  Having a coach will support your forward progress to keep you on a positive track.

3)    Design a results oriented goal and focused action plan to move forward, and fine-tune it with your coach.  This will support your results by acknowledging your achievements and reinforcing the positive expansion of them.

 (c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2009

 Jeannette Seibly is a nationally recognized coach, who has helped thousands of people work smarter, have financial freedom, and realize their dreams now.  Along the way, she created three millionaires.  You can contact her:  JLSeibly@gmail.com OR http://SeibCo.com

Are You Ready for the New World of Work?

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Are You Ready for the New World of Work?

 Regardless of your age, many workers will go through unemployment again in their lifetime.  Now is the time to learn lifelong skills on how to sell yourself and your value; and how to transfer your current skills into new opportunities and pursuits.

 We are now experiencing the start of a new world of work, again!  Back in the 90’s, changes started occurring much more rapidly than they had in the previous decades.  Now, it’s moving forward again.  Are you ready?  

Baby boomers, early in their careers, were willing to take risks, take a stand for what is right, and move heaven and earth to make it happen.  Then, they became older, and other priorities took over, e.g., kids, mortgages, retirement and caring for their parents. 

Then, the next generation of movers and shakers evolved (aka Generations X and Y) and their views of success are different.  They are not willing to settle for the old standards employers have used for too long to determine career paths, recognition and paychecks.  They look at risk taking as something they will do as long as there is a clear payback. 

The common denominator between all the generations:  most have not had to work to find their next job!

What is the major hindrance in finding the next job?  Attitudes!  Self talk and how we communicate with others limit the types of work and job challenges we are offered, and the corresponding paychecks.

 Regardless of your generation, there are three basic types of job seekers:

 1)  Do nothing and wait out the economy.  They are waiting for employers to call them.  (Hint:  It’s not going to happen.)  Your waiting will impact you professionally, and your family financially.  Many times your health and well-being can suffer, too.  Let go of the illusion that someone will serendipitously recognize your value by simply reading your resume and offer you your dream job. 

2)  Yeah, but’s.   They make luke-warm attempts at finding a job, and rely heavily upon resume blasts or support groups to talk about finding a job.  While support groups can be great in helping people, unless they are results-focused they will unconsciously reinforce the “I won’t do it” mentality that often limits job seekers (e.g., won’t relocate, won’t work in a different industry or profession, will stay unemployed so children can keep their current friends, will keep relying solely on blasting out resumes, etc.)

 3)  I’m the one!  They have an attitude that says, “I’m career directed, job fit ready and open to transition out of my old career path when it is no longer working.”  They realize the only limiting factor is how they view themselves, and they create positive self talk.

 These job seekers are open to effectively exploring, investigating and educating themselves so that they can communicate their value to their next boss!  They do not rely upon past job titles and job responsibilities – they have taken the time to clarify who they are, their inherent strengths and weaknesses and how to communicate these traits effectively.  They are ready for the new world of work.

 They effectively use their network to market themselves using voice-to-voice conversations to elicit the best of others’ ideas and opinions, which goes beyond tweeting, and posting requests on their Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn pages.

As a result, they are the first to learn about the myriad of new opportunities being created throughout the world due to new businesses, industries, inventions, and professions; and unadvertised job openings (an estimated 90% of all openings!). 

Their focus is to find a job that matches their goals and provides job fit–now and in the future.  So they prepare great questions to ensure clarity about the company’s direction, and how the company envisions their path for success.  They are comfortable saying, “No, thanks.” to job offers, when they are clear it won’t work.

 Are you ready for the new world of work? 

About the author:  Jeannette Seibly is a nationally recognized coach, who has helped 1000’s of people achieve unprecedented results.  She has created three millionaires.  You can contact her:  JLSeibly@gmail.com OR http://SeibCo.com

 (C)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2009