Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom How the Latitude Assessment Changed My Life in Reverse

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom How the Latitude Assessment Changed My Life â€" in Reverse College career counselors often ask me to recommend assessments, which is kind of funny I never took any kind of test to inform the decision about a major or a career. I’d taken AP psychology in high school and did well in it, and so I picked that. I didn’t take a test when I graduated from Northwestern University either. I just knew that pursuing psychology would take at least four more years of school, and I wasn’t having any of that. I wanted to go into the business world right away, and since I wasn’t trained to do much, I landed in an entry-level public relations job at a large agency in New York City. Fifteen years later, I received the opportunity to take YouScience’s two-hour online assessment, Latitude. Essentially, Latitude uncovers what you’re wired to do well and why. The assessment’s series of five to 12 minute exercises reveal 14 of the aptitudes most important to college and career plus the types of work you’ll find most satisfying. My Results Latitude provided me with loads of meaty material as well as a summary that included these highlights: When it comes to idea generation, I’m a brainstormer. I’m able to come up with multiple examples when describing something or with multiple activities to engage in. I’m also an investigator. This means that I enjoy acquiring new information and learning how facts influence each other. My high sequential reasoning ability lets me automatically shuffle and organize large amounts of information in my head and easily organize my thoughts and learned information in a methodical way. Halfway between introverted and extroverted, I work best when I have a balance between collaborating with others and focusing on my area of expertise. I’m equally comfortable leading and following depending on the situation. Well, that explains why I always confused the Myers-Briggs folks! Because I like to advise others and am apparently good at it, Latitude recommended that I pursue the fields of psychology, training and development, and communications. Guess what? That’s pretty much how I’ve spent the last 20 years. Latitude: Definitely Better Late Than Never My career evolution was a happy accident, hitting all of the areas of natural strength that Latitude identified. But my life would have been much easier if I had taken Latitude sooner. I would have been able to make more confident, better informed decisions about areas of study and careers. Due to the assessment’s uncanny accuracy, I might have ended up in the same place â€" but I wouldn’t have had to rely on fate to get there. Understanding why I am the way I am â€" why I find certain tasks invigorating and others frustrating, is helping me to even further hone my career aspirations. My career probably has a good 30+ years left and I’m going to be glad to have Latitude as a partner every step of the way.

Resume Writing Workshop Near Me - Where Should I Look?

Resume Writing Workshop Near Me - Where Should I Look?What would you do if you were to try and find a resume writing workshop near me? It would be nice if it was easy to get there, but sadly this is not the case.There are numerous choices for traveling within your home town. Some may have a physical space where people can go and read, others may just offer online courses that give you some materials to work with. It is up to you to decide which workshop you want to take part in.You should also realize that there are workshops out there that will help you build your resume without having to spend any money on it. You can pick up these free materials from the Internet or buy a guide that covers every aspect of your resume. The guides will cost a little bit more, but they are well worth it.Some people like the idea of trying out free materials before investing a dime into them. If you have any degree of computer savvy then you may just be able to fix the information on your own. You wil l be surprised how quickly you learn how to do something when you are doing it for the first time.One thing you need to consider about any workshop is whether or not they offer you the chance to test out a portion of your material. If they are going to hold you to a strict schedule, then you should be able to get the same experience as other participants.When choosing a workshop, you should do a bit of research first. Look for those that have good reviews online. You want to make sure that you are not wasting your time attending a workshop that you have not been satisfied with.The last thing to consider when choosing a free workshop is the length of time that it takes for you to complete the course. It is always best to sign up for a shorter course so that you can work on your resume while it is still fresh. You do not want to waste your time and efforts just to complete a longer course.Finding a resume writing workshop near me is easy. Just take the time to consider all the options available to you, and take your time to make the right decision.

Personal Branding Magazine Issue 11 Seth Godin Interview Preview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Personal Branding Magazine Issue 11 Seth Godin Interview Preview - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career For the February issue of Personal Branding Magazine, Seth Godin will grace the cover, with an exclusive and lengthy interview I conducted with him about his new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable. Out of all his bestselling books, this one is the closest related to personal branding because it focuses on becoming indispensable, meaning that people need your expertise in order to be successful.   Ive wanted to interview Seth for about two years now, so Im really excited to give you a sneak preview of the interview below.   Seth is also holding a blog ring for his book promotion, which Im part of, along with fellow author, Daniel Pink. To see other blog interviews in the ring go to: http://www.squidoo.com/The-Linchpin-Posts. Subscribe to Personal Branding Magazine and receive the full interview (as well as a lot more) on February 1st! Why do you say that everyone is a genius? What prevents people from unleashing their inner genius? Well Dan, let me ask you “when you were four years old, did you ever do something that no one had done before, did you ever solve a problem in an interesting way, did you ever say anything that made people take notice’? You probably did that when you were six or eight but by the time you were ten, society started drilling into you that you were average or that you should be average so we baked it out of most people. I think we can define genius as solving a problem in a new and original way. Every one of us is capable of solving some problem somewhere in a new and original way and we have to put our mind on doing it if we think it’s important. Aside from just doing your job every day, what value do you put on building relationships with coworkers? Well, I’m wondering if the relationships with co-workers is your job. If you do something that can be done by a machine, then really soon it’s going to be done with a machine. If you do something that can be done for a quarter of the price by someone in Bangalore, then what are you doing that can’t be done by those alternatives. And the answer is building a tribe, creating a network, doing art, contributing emotional labor, being culturally sensitive to the work that you do and the people you work with. Those things make you irreplaceable and indispensable and the good news is that you don’t have to go to school to learn them, you just have to decide to do them. Can you explain the lizard brain and why it prevents you from being successful? Steven Pressfield wrote about the resistance. The resistance is caused by the lizard brain, the amygdala, the prehistoric brain stem, the part of the brain that a chicken and lizard has, the part of your brain that wants you to fit in, not get made fun of or laughed at, the part of your brain that’s in charge of revenge, anger and survival. You should never let your lizard brain make important decisions. It’s the lizard brain that gets you to quit a project at the exact wrong moment. The opportunity that you have over time is to conquer the resistance by understanding why the lizard brain is why it is and soothing it to the point where it ignores the stuff that’s coming up and let’s you do the important work. Now my blog, every single day I write something and every single day the lizard brain shows up and says “maybe you shouldn’t write that” and as soon as the lizard brain says that I know I’m onto something and I write even more on that topic. Random question: Why do you have your face on some books and not others? The act of choosing a cover for a book is challenging and fascinating and random. We did more than 150 covers for this book and one of the covers that I liked was me holding a chicken, a rubber chicken cause they are memorable and funny. I thought this book was serious enough that it deserved a cover that stuck with people. And I thought the book, more than anything else I’ve written, is not about me at all. It’s about thinking about who you are. As a result, I wanted to pick your picture on the cover Dan, but that would have meant printing a different cover for everybody and that would have been difficult. Seth Godin is the author of Linchpin: Are You Indispensable, as well as the bestselling author of Tribes, The Dip, Purple Cow, All Marketers Are Liars, Permission Marketing, and other international bestsellers that have changed the way business people think and act.   Hes the most influential business blogger in the world and consistently one of the twenty-five most widely read bloggers in the English language.   Hes also the founder and CEO of Squidoo.com and a very popular speaker. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and The Prime Minister of Permission Marketing by Promo Magazine. Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industrys leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age by Business Week.

Three Ridiculously Easy Tips to Defeat Perfectionism - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Three Ridiculously Easy Tips to Defeat Perfectionism - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career If you are like most of us, you are doing more with less. Most businesses take pride in the ever increasing productivity of workers. Bosses often pile on too much work to too few people. Solo-entrepreneurs over-commit themselves. And, pretty much everyone is sleep-deprived, caffeine and sugar-high, or otherwise brain drained by the habits we rely on to keep us going. So how can you manage a pile of projects, your social media commitments, and have time for Scandal? Plus get some time to see your friends and family, walk your dog, eat right, workout, sleep enough and occasionally chill! The simple way to satisfying the taskmaster â€" your boss or yourself â€" is to drop the perfectionism. Highly productive people who live satisfying and successful lives seem to share the same philosophy. It can be summed up as: Focus on the outcome. Consider the time and resources available. Embrace the traits of swift and simple as tenets of your personal brand. Enjoy life. In my research on work behavior, I’ve identified three different types of perfectionist work styles. While you might have obvious signs of perfectionism, some perfectionist behaviors are sneaky. Which of these might apply to you? The “Everything Matters!” perfectionists These folks give everything the same priority: top notch! They live by a much repeated and truly debilitating adage: “If a job is worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” That’s simply not true. Why scrub empty milk cartons before placing them in the recycling, when a simple rinse will do the trick? Don’t take more time creating the perfect Netflix watch list than you do watching movies. TIP #1: Make a list of everything you could do poorly, without sacrificing health, wealth and your personal brand at work. Then enjoy the extra sleep, creative time, and just doing nothing once in a while. The “Chicken Little” perfectionists Often called micromanagers, these people are sure the sky will come crashing down, if they don’t have everything they need in advance and everything in place in case anything goes wrong. They suffer from a lack of basic awareness that humans are inherently good problem-solvers. They also ignore that the 24-hour gas station minimart has a pretty good substitute for whatever you’re missing. TIP #2: Make a list, check it twice and then be nice to yourself.   The Queen of England eats breakfast cereal out of a Tupperware bowl. Give yourself the joy of spontaneous inspiration, when you get to source a wealth of substitutes because something is missing or the plan needs tweaking on-the-spot. The “Too Much, Too Tired” perfectionists Whenever you see clutter on the desk, the office floor, the bathroom at home, or in the car, handbag or briefcase, you pretty much have the most insidious perfectionism at hand. These folks are so overwhelmed by the stacks, piles and most importantly good intentions to do the world’s greatest job at work and home, they get very little accomplished. The same is true with the overfilled calendar, because they’ve said yes to too much. TIP #3: Get a good friend to un-pile your life. As you clean up, have a heart to heart discussion about what really matters. Then organize your time and life around those priorities. Block off a full hour each day to throw away your mess and reorganize your space, so you can keep calm and be proud of what you do accomplish. Do you feel like you’re breaking your back, losing your mind or otherwise suffering from an unmanageable workload? Let me know the number one thing that’s really important for you to do perfectly, and five things you can choose to do more swiftly and simply. I’ll be your accountability partner. Email me at Nance@NanceRosen.com. Subject line: Perfect.

Police Chief Resume Writing Tips

Police Chief Resume Writing TipsWriting a resume for a police chief job is often one of the most important parts of the job search. With the demand for officers soaring, it is in the best interest of job seekers to prepare a well-crafted resume. A properly written resume is more likely to be read by employers and then considered than a poorly written resume.In order to write a well-crafted resume for a police chief job, one needs to know how to structure a resume properly. Making sure that the format of a resume fits a particular job description is the most important part of the process.When you are looking for a job in the police force, your resume is your ticket to getting noticed. The resume is the first thing that a potential employer will see when he or she looks at your application. Therefore, the content of your resume is vitally important. Having a well-written resume makes the difference between getting an interview or being passed over.In order to write a resume that will g et you hired, you need to realize that resumes should tell a story. The main purpose of the resume is to tell employers what you can do for them. If your resume tells them that you are a jerk, they will dismiss you as soon as you go to the interview. If your resume tells them that you can do everything they want to do, they will keep you on the top of their list until you leave.Although you may have a lot of experience in doing police work, if you do not have a great writing style, your resume will not be looked upon favorably when it comes to applying for a police chief job. Even though you may have the skills necessary to be a successful police officer, you will still need to use your skills to tell employers what you can do for them. If you do not tell employers what you can do, they will pass you by.It is imperative that you know how to format a resume properly in order to be a strong candidate for a police chief job. For starters, you will need to make sure that you utilize bul let points. This is a technique where you group similar things together to make your resume easier to read. This is one of the many techniques you can use to avoid clutter on your resume.When writing bullet points, you want to make sure that you are clear and concise. You also want to avoid overly-complicated language as this can make it harder to read. It is okay to use 'strong'strongly' when describing your achievements, but you do not want to use them too much. Keep it to the point.When writing a resume for a police chief job, make sure that you include enough information about yourself so that employers can easily determine whether or not you are a good fit for the job. Make sure that you have your basic qualifications covered, but do not neglect the details. If you do, you will be better off than if you had included everything but not the details.

Is Your LinkedIn Profile an Opportunity Magnet - Career Pivot

Is Your LinkedIn Profile an Opportunity Magnet - Career Pivot Opportunity Magnet Is your LinkedIn profile an opportunity magnet? Remember that a magnet both attracts and repulses iron. You want your LinkedIn profile to attract desirable opportunities, as well as repulse opportunities that are of no interest. Those are a waste of time to pursue! As you construct your LinkedIn profile, you need to be very clear on the kind of opportunities you wish to attract. I want to give you two examples: first, how this client attracted only the opportunities he wanted, and second, how another client located her opportunities by using the same strategies. Opportunity Magnet in a Niche Market When you work in a nicheâ€"or narrowâ€"market there are usually not a lot of job opportunities. I have a client who has a niche Ph.D. in the K-12 and higher education market. He wanted to get out of this specialty and, instead, to move into a human resources role, utilizing much of the same skill set. Previously, I wrote that, when you are operating in a small or niche marketplace, it is just like selling a niche product like a vintage Fiat. Many people may not be interested, but you only need one buyer. We branded him as a “data photographer.” This brought a few opportunities, but nothing concrete. He complained that the brand phrasing in his LinkedIn profile was not attracting enough traffic. I told him to wait and give it time. Within a month, he had an interview and was told how they “just loved” this phrasing. It was just what they were looking for. The position was for a company working in the human resources space. His profile was a magnetâ€"not for many opportunitiesâ€"but for the right ones. Listen to the most recent episode As it turns out, the company decided not to fill the position but contacted my client a few months later with another opportunity. He was offered the job after a fairly painless interview process. When you are making a pivot into a new profession or industry, you will not necessarily attract a lot of suitors. You just want to attract the right one that will hire you for the right job. For More:Managing Your Career is Like Selling a Vintage Fiat Finding the Magnet in a Niche Market I am working with a lady who has a Ph.D. in mathematics. She wants to break into a very specific niche of the pharmaceutical market. She has done something similar in the past but was struggling to find people who were doing exactly what she wanted to do. But…she knew they existed. We found some marketing collateralfrom a pharmaceutical consulting company and researched it for vocabulary. We found three very unusual, or niche, terms used consistently in this material. We searched LinkedIn for profiles who used these terms andâ€"BINGO! We found hundreds of individuals who used these terms in their profiles. They were working in the area that my client wanted to work. Much to my surprise, one of the individuals was someone I helped several years earlier. I then contacted him and made an introduction. Since that time, my client found an individual who basically had the same educational background as her, who had also made a pivot into this niche profession. Now, she has someone who has walked the trail before her. This person is acting like a sherpa for my client, introducing her to people and giving her guidance. All of this was possible by finding the right terms to use in her LinkedIn profile and searching for others in these industries. My client just needed to find the right key to her magnet. For More:Anatomy of a Passive Candidate’s LinkedIn Profile The Law of Attraction According to the Wikipedia: The law of attraction is the name given to the maxim “like attracts like” which in New Thought philosophy is used, to sum up, the idea that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life.[1][2] This belief is based on the idea that people and their thoughts are both made from “pure energy”, and the belief that like energy attracts like energy. It is all about finding which things will attract opportunities to you AND find the key to what others are using to attract opportunities to themselves. What is your magnet? Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Careers in Design - Space Planning - CareerAlley

Careers in Design - Space Planning - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Almost any office space, large or small, requires that Space Designers (also known as Interior Designers)ensure that interior spaces functional, safe, appeal to staff and clients. Although there are many factors that go into keeping staff and clients happy, the foundation starts with a great first impression and well-designed office space. When newor existing customers visit an office, what they see and experience will be a huge determining factor in whether they want to do business going forward. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash So, how do Space Designers create space that delivers the right message to clients and staff? When clients walk into an office, what will they see? If space unkempt, disorganized, and has minimal resources, it will send a message to clients that the brand or design is unprofessional. What Interior Designers do Interior designers help make interior spaces (office and home) functional and safeby understanding space requirements and selecting lighting, furniture and other items that will meet the design specifications or client requirements. Space Designers can read blueprints, understand building codes and sometimes coordinate securing permits. They will work with building inspectors and ensure that they work conforms withlocal building regulations, as well as universal accessibility standards. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash How to Become an Interior Designer Most Interior Design positions require a bachelors degree as well as a concentration in drawing, computer-aided design, and planning coursework. Depending on the location, Interior Designers may be required to be certified or obtain a license. Internships during college will help, as will joining local and national industry groups. Interior Designer Skills Requirements Planning SkillsProblem SolvingGreat Computer SkillsUnderstand local codes AutoCad SkillsCreativityExcellent Communications SkillsUnderstand current trends Client ServiceColor BasicsHarmony and BalanceTeam Work Time ManagementResourcefulnessOrganizedManage expectations Great presentation skillsProfessionalizmBusiness ManagementBudgeting skills Understand Your Clients Needs Building functional office space for clients that fit their needs is key to your success. Try to provide your clients with a space that provides value. Having amenities such as an office water dispenser, coffee, and tea, as well as light refreshments can make a lasting first impression. Being able to satisfy something as simple as a dry throat or a rumbling belly as they conduct business (without having to pay for it), is considered a bonus in their eyes. For your clients who may have clients waiting for a while to be seen, like a doctors office, you can consider building a place for their clients to be entertained. Job Overview What they earn (1) Resources to Get You Started Starting a new career can be overwhelming, but there are plenty of resources for you to leverage; Colleges to consider The Best Interior Design Degrees from collegechoice.net. Books to Read How to Draw Furniture, How to Start and Operate your own interior design business to name just a few. Find a Job: Try an experienced favorite Monster.comorCreative Jobs Central. Employment for Interior Designers to 2019 is expected to grow strongly. Employment in this medium-sized occupation (10 800 in November 2014) rose very strongly in the past five years and in the long-term (ten years). Over the five years to November 2019, the number of job openings for Interior Designers is expected to be below average (between 5,001 and 10,000). Job openings can arise from employment growth and people leaving the occupation. Opencolleges.edu Things You Should Consider Like all career changes, make sure you understand some of the basics. Such as: Interior Decorators are not Interior Designers. Your education and the skills mentioned earlier will set you apart from decorators who dont always have the schooling or skills. You must like working with people. This is a hands-on career where you will be working with people every day (and helping them spend their money). You must enjoy working with people (even the difficult ones). We wrote earlier about knowing and understanding local codes and zoning laws. If you enjoy this, then this is the right career for you. If not, move on. One More Thing No matter what your career, perception is everything. Being an interior designer involves regular face-to-face communication with your clients, you have to go a step further to make a good impression. You will need to hone your client service skills so that clients feel welcomed, comfortable, and persuaded to do business with you in the future. When youre in the creative industry, you should get creative with your resume. For instance, if youre a graphic designer, your resume should reflect that visually. Your resume is your first impression. Tweet This You will need to convince them that you are an expert indesigning an office space that meets their needs. Then, seal the deal by providing outstanding service with impeccable results. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Finding the Right Recruiter

Finding the Right Recruiter You would think that with all of the career resources online and in bookstores, job hunting would be easy. Just read a few how-to books, follow the directions found online and you should have a new job in no time. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. If it were really that easy, there would be no need for recruiters. Recruiters match people with jobs. They have many of the same skills as career counselors and career coaches. However, many recruiters will only work with you if you and your resume can make them money. You do not need to pay a recruiter to help you find a job; the company that hires you will do that. However, you must have the skill sets that the recruiter is looking for in order for that person to spend time marketing you and preparing you for interviews. So what kind of recruiter is the right recruiter? Find a recruiter who is knowledgeable in your career field and who has networking contacts in the company or association for which you want to work. A good recruiter will find out what you are looking for and can tell you whether or not you are qualified and will be hired in that field. The right recruiter will be dedicated to finding you another position if the first one you accepted does not work out. Sometimes the fit between the job and the employee is just not right, and it is not always evident to all the parties involved: employer, recruiter or employee. You want a recruiter who will check in with you once you have accepted a job and are working to find out how the job is going. The easiest way to find a recruiter is to check out online recruiter resources. You can also ask friends, colleagues and family members for recommendations of suitable recruiters. However, you need to remember that a recruiter who is suitable for one person may not be the right one for you.