What are you DOING in your job search #metrics

What are you DOING in your job search #metrics I LOVE how people misuse metrics.  One of the best books around was required reading in my Stats 101 class, titled How to Lie with Statistics.  Its a great, fast read. On my Jason Alba blog I wrote a post titled FAKE METRICS.  I differentiate between signups, users and upgrades (and the old term, hits), and say that most companies are calling their signups USERS when they should really call them signups (since someone might signup, and then never come back and USE the system). Alas, business nomenclature to confuse or mislead, and create hype. On TechCrunch, more than two years after my post, Erick Schonfeld writes Dont Be Fooled By Vanity Metrics.  He writes: These growth metrics can often be signs of traction (which is why we report them), but just as often they are not. It is important to distinguish between real metrics and what Lean Startup guru Eric Ries calls  vanity metrics. So I got to thinking, what are the metrics you use in your job search? Is it the number of resumes you send out? Or the number of business cards you collect? Or the number of connections you have in LinkedIn? Or the number of jobs you applied to on Monster or Indeed? Is it the number of phone calls youve sent, or the hours you spent revising a resume or cover letter?  Is it _________? Many times I see job seekers use vanity metrics, not to be vain, but because we have become conditioned to like measurable things and if we can stick a number on something (I spent 6 hours working on my resume today!), we can feel better about ourselves.  We can tell others what we are doing, in a way that makes us sound productive. But metrics dont necessarily lead to desired outcome. STOP.  Right now, stop.  Stop doing that. Write down what your metrics are, and then make a list of what they should be. Before you waste one more brain cell working on metrics, ensure that you are working towards the RIGHT metrics, not something that is in VAIN. What are you DOING in your job search #metrics I LOVE how people misuse metrics.  One of the best books around was required reading in my Stats 101 class, titled How to Lie with Statistics.  Its a great, fast read. On my Jason Alba blog I wrote a post titled FAKE METRICS.  I differentiate between signups, users and upgrades (and the old term, hits), and say that most companies are calling their signups USERS when they should really call them signups (since someone might signup, and then never come back and USE the system). Alas, business nomenclature to confuse or mislead, and create hype. On TechCrunch, more than two years after my post, Erick Schonfeld writes Dont Be Fooled By Vanity Metrics.  He writes: These growth metrics can often be signs of traction (which is why we report them), but just as often they are not. It is important to distinguish between real metrics and what Lean Startup guru Eric Ries calls  vanity metrics. So I got to thinking, what are the metrics you use in your job search? Is it the number of resumes you send out? Or the number of business cards you collect? Or the number of connections you have in LinkedIn? Or the number of jobs you applied to on Monster or Indeed? Is it the number of phone calls youve sent, or the hours you spent revising a resume or cover letter?  Is it _________? Many times I see job seekers use vanity metrics, not to be vain, but because we have become conditioned to like measurable things and if we can stick a number on something (I spent 6 hours working on my resume today!), we can feel better about ourselves.  We can tell others what we are doing, in a way that makes us sound productive. But metrics dont necessarily lead to desired outcome. STOP.  Right now, stop.  Stop doing that. Write down what your metrics are, and then make a list of what they should be. Before you waste one more brain cell working on metrics, ensure that you are working towards the RIGHT metrics, not something that is in VAIN.

The Little Mermaid Principle for Career Advancement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Little Mermaid Principle for Career Advancement - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In my previous two blog posts I shared wisdom from Tarzan and The Lone Ranger. Realizing that these are both male and old characters, I will do my best to move forward to more recent fictional characters from which we can learn. This week, let’s examine Disney’s The Little Mermaid. If you or your children grew up in the 1990’s or later, you have probably seen the movie The Little Mermaid. Unlike all her sisters, Ariel   was not complacent to live “under the sea.” She longed for the adventure of the unknown â€" the life above the ocean. Which brings me to what I call The Little Mermaid Principle for Career Advancement: There is always something better and you can find it if you are willing to take calculated risks and be a proactive job seeker. Every time during my corporate career that I found myself in a job or company I did not enjoy, I conducted a proactive (clandestine) job search and got something better. Over and over again I changed jobs, roughly once every three years. Today, two to three years is the average job tenure… whether you like it or not. If you like your employer, then perhaps you can conduct an internal job search or (my favorite) create your own job. Here is a recent client example that I hope will inspire you: Andy came to me earlier this year and said that he liked his employer but did not feel he was well utilized in his current job. Also, his current job was not in alignment with the career path he desired to take. He could see no way to advance if he stayed in this current organization. So, we worked through a process  that involved identifying where he wanted to be in  five years and what the  job would look like that could be the stepping stone to achieving his five year goal. There was just one problem… The job that Jack desired did not exist in this company. So, we identified the person to whom such a job should report and formulated a plan for Jack to approach that person and propose the creation of his desired position. A few conversations later (and with some modifications to fit the needs  of his desired boss), the position was created and Jack got the job! He also got a $10,000 raise. In this example, Jack conducted a proactive job search within his existing employer. Whether internally or externally, I am 100% certain that a job exists that will  better utilize your abilities, will make you happier, and will advance your career more rapidly. If necessary, you can even create it. Studies consistently find that over 50% of currently employed people are not happy in their jobs. This is a crying shame, since they all have the ability to find something better. What about you? Are you part to the 50%+ who should be heeding The Little Mermaid Principle, taking calculated risks and conducting a proactive job search? Maybe your co-workers seem satisfied, like Ariel’s sisters. But, I can guarantee you a high percentage of them are not. They are just sucking it up, putting a good face on a career situation that is nowhere near what they truly desire. You don’t have to settle for less than you deserve. Stop the excuses. Get yourself moving. There is something better out there for you. Today is the best day of all to get started, taking action to gain the job you desire.

How To Motivate Yourself To Study

How To Motivate Yourself To Study Studying is one of the most important activities that students will engage in during their academic careers, which is why it is so important to make time for this habit; students who fail to study properly run the risk of performing poorly on tests or exams that end up determining their grade in the course. As many students know, however, it can be very challenging to find the discipline needed to make time to study, especially when you are tired or have a huge workload to tackle. Fortunately, there are several tips that you can follow to make motivation easier. Thinking about how to motivate yourself to study can be one of the best ways to make studying less of a chore and more enjoyable. Listening to music While everyone has different study habits, many people enjoy listening to music while they are studying. The music helps them drown out other distractions in their environment, which often allows students to zone in on the materials that they are studying so that they can learn more efficiently. Some people may prefer upbeat music, to help keep their energy levels high while studying for a prolonged period of time. Others might lean more towards slower, instrumental music that can serve more as background filler to help with studying. If you have never tried it before, listening to music is a good thing to do when thinking about how to motivate yourself to further study. Reward yourself One of the best ways to motivate yourself to get work done is to give yourself a treat or reward if you complete a certain milestone. It doesn’t have to be anything significant. For example, if you study for a full half an hour without getting distracted, you might reward yourself by taking a walk to a local coffee shop to indulge in your favourite brew. Another strategy is to treat yourself to a nice dinner at the end of a long day of studying where you have accomplished what you need to. Whatever kinds of rewards you decide to establish, it is a good idea to ensure that they are carefully segmented so that you give yourself a chance at more rewards, which will improve your motivation. Study with a friend or group of classmates Study groups can be extremely effective for students who are looking to learn as quickly as they can. A study group is also valuable because it allows you to bounce information off of others and check each other for understanding. A study buddy may be able to point out details or explain concepts in a certain way that makes it easier for you to understand, which is extremely valuable for students. This is particularly useful if you are doing VCE at TAFE. Another great way that studying with others can help you when you consider how to motivate yourself to study is through competition. In some cases, even the most apathetic students will become more excited about learning if it is made into a competition. Think about holding a competition to see who can get the best score on a practice exam, or to see who can answer the most study questions correctly within a given timeframe. Be sure that the winners get rewarded sufficiently so that they can be happy about gaining the knowledge they need and coming out on top in the study competition. Take breaks While it may seem counterproductive to recommend breaks when you are thinking about how to motivate yourself to study, this is the next step. Taking some time to rest and recharge your brain will serve you very well when it comes time to start studying again. Many students find the most success by breaking their study schedule down into blocks of time that are interrupted by breaks. Beginners to this approach may want to start off with shorter blocks of studying and gradually increase the time. For example, you could start by doing a work schedule of twenty minutes, followed by a five-minute break. After you get used to this, you may want to increase it to thirty minutes of work followed by a ten-minute break, and so on. This method of managing your time is known as the Pomodoro Technique, and it has been used by all types of people to help manage time more effectively. The challenge of how to motivate yourself to study is one that students have faced for decades. Today, there are plenty of methods that disciplined students can use to help them focus more on their studies without getting burned out by the feeling of having too much to do. Author Bio The author for the Kangan Institute blog posts is Chris Camwell. Chris believes in a fair education for all. He works tirelessly to ensure that even people from disadvantaged backgrounds have an opportunity to engage with learning. Chris’ passion for education translates in the way he instils a love of learning in the young people at Kangan Institute. You can read more here. 37

Commitment is essential for doing something that matters

Commitment is essential for doing something that matters For my next career, I decided I want to be a professional gamer. My kids will grow up and move out and Ill get great internet and stock my apartment  with all the food gamers want. And I’ll recruit an awesome team because they can live rent-free and play together in one room. I will not have good reaction time, but I’ll be team captain and that way we can get AARP to sponsor us. Also, I might even have a gaming blog. I have a lot to say. For example, did you know Koreans are better at League of Legends than anyone else? And people spend a lot of time trying to figure out why. Like maybe its their gaming style (go out strong) or gaming culture (its literally ILLEGAL to cheat at videos games in Korea). But I hear this same conversation about Korean string instrument players. Earlier in life Id have told you to go to Optilingo and learn Korean because I was convinced it was language related. But now I have come to the unscientific conclusion that its finger dexterity. Maybe small-twitch muscles in fingers. Or something like that. Youll want to come back to my gaming blog for more borderline racist commentary. The research says that hard-core gaming is a sign of high IQ, ambition, and future success. And kids who climb through the ranks become experts at grit and perseverance. Which is why I let my kids play video games whenever they want. I read about colleges giving esports scholarships to gamers. I read about how kids sell their accounts, or they  get paid to play on other kids accounts to win games. I read parents talking about their kids who earn six figures as gamers. One dad took his kids computer to work with him every day so the kid bought a second computer. Another family turned off their internet so the kid paid to get his bedroom wired. Commitment is relative and most of you are not particularly committed to anything. Commitment is about time and energy. Look at what you  put time and energy toward. Are you in the top 10% in terms  of the time and energy you put into your particular thing? I’d say top 10%  is how I would define committed. Top 20% is very interested.  Top 50% is paying attention in an average way. Do you want to do something that matters on the world?  First define something that matters and then go find someone else who has done that. Look how committed are they to what they did. Do you want to be that committed? Would you give up what they gave up? If the answer is no then you don’t want to change the world. (Or be Challenger level in League of Legends.) I have been playing League of Legends with my kids, mostly to see what being committed to gaming might feel like. At first I didnt know what I was doing and my son would type things in for me: F U ALL IM TAKING MIDLANE. After that I typed, Im sorry for that. That was my son. I didnt mean to be rude. Could I play mid-lane? Then my kids would get serious. They’d tell me I cant type stuff like that. Theyd tell me we are going to get our IP banned because I sound like a troll. An interesting way to divide the world is  the super-committed and everyone else. Commitment level is relative. But some things are clear. You can only expect  to be with people who have the same level of commitment as you. For anything. At work full-timers hate dealing with part-timers. In League of Legends if youre Bronze then you only play with Bronze players. My kids can’t stand when other kids come over to our house and have very little experience playing video games, and they think they’re going to get better while they’re in our den of unlimited screen time. “Dude! It takes years!” Is what my son says.  The only way you level up in commitment is with time and energy. There’s nothing else. Similarly, I am sick of people who want to change the world but cant seem to stay in the same job because it takes decades to do something that really matters. Commitment. And risk: spending so much time at something without having certain reward. So few people can stomach that. But gamers do. The correlation between success and hard work is palpable among gamers. Its refreshing after decades of hearing people talk about work-life balance as something successful people do. I like when my kids are winning because they have more time to type in the comments. Tonight my older son says, Oh my god this guy just said, I got my girlfriend pregnant and Im trying to get through medical school.” I say, “Tell him your mom will talk to him if he wants help.” My son howls with laughter. But then he types that to the kid. Two blown-up turrets later, the kid types back: “Its ok. We’re going to Planned Parenthood tomorrow.” I say, Tell him to get her flowers when gets home. She’ll like that.” Younger son: No! He’s trolling! Dont write that! MOM. Seriously! So what? So what if he’s trolling. Everyone in the game will be nicer if they know someone who has an abortion. My older son types it. And so does my younger son. And its a small victory for me. Because right now I am not working full time and Im not parenting full time. Im doing both just sort of okay. But in this League of Legends moment, Ive made a small difference. And Im happy.

#106 - A Day In The Life Of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Joe Christopher

#106 - A Day In The Life Of a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) - Joe Christopher The Career Insider Podcast Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSSForEpisode 106of The CareerMetis Podcast, we will learn about:A Day in the Life of a Chief Technology Officerfrom our guest Joe ChristopherevalGuest Introduction â€" Joe ChristopherevalJoe Christopher is a Chief Technology Officer for Relode.Relode is a referral community that connects the best healthcare professionals to the best healthcare jobs.Episode Summary1.Joe begins by sharing his early life on a farm, fixing things and figuring out how to be the most efficient with the least amount of people. In school he started following a technology path before falling in love with software and web-based applications.2.After working remotely, Joe joined a healthcare education company and helped them grow for approximately 10 years and gaining tons of skills and insights in the process.3.Joe takes us through a day in his life complete with meetings and planning in the morning, helping his team with what they’re developing and even planning for the future.4.Joe takes us through the parts of the job that he truly loves, he sees technology as a tool to help people be more effective, and he loves being able to help talented people become even better at what they do.eval5.Joe also describes some of the challenges that impact him on a day to day basis, including communication breakdowns and finding cost effective ways to solve problems6.Joe gives insights on how to beat go about assuming leadership roles, and what people may want to do whether they aspire to be a leader or not.7.Joe also talks about certifications and degrees, and where they come into play when it comes to being a Chief Technology Officer for an organization.8.Joe ends things off by recommending 3 books to help listeners reach new levels of success within themselves and their career.Quotes“There’s some satisfaction in achieving something before hitting the bed for the night”eval“How do we make t he process of hiring in healthcare easier for everyone?”“I’ve always seen technology as this tool to augment or scale people”“At Reload, we’re a startup and so agility is one of our strengths”“What’s the simplest thing we can do to make this idea better”“It’s always easier to lead people when you understand 100% of what they’re doing”“You need to learn to lead yourself first”LinksTo learn more about Joe Christopher , you can visit his companywebsite. You can also connect with her on LinkedInor Twitter.Recommended ReadingevalExtreme Ownership by Jocko WillinkDecisive by Chip Heath Dan HeathMindset by Carol S. DweckChecklist Manifesto by Atul GawandeIntro Music provided courtesy ofAccelerated Ideas

Would you leave your safe job for the chance at something better

Would you leave your safe job for the chance at something better Would you leave your safe job for the chance at something better? Would you leave your safe job for the chance at something better? July 22, 2012 by Career Coach Sherri Thomas 2 Comments Where’s the point that you would stop settling for an average or mediocre career, and put it all on the line for a chance at something better? Rich Dubek found his tipping point after spending 20 years working in television as an award winning reporter in Phoenix. He talked about the frustration he had, the risks he took and the strategies he put in place to set himself up for success in the next chapter of his career in my new book, The Bounce Back.   Here’s an excerpt from Rich’s story… I had been a successful, two-time Emmy award winning Senior News Reporter for many years at a local NBC television affiliate. I loved my job, and I had recently broken some major national stories, exceeding all the lofty goals set by my employer. But I had worked long hours under the most stressful of circumstances as I continued to pay my dues, sacrificing time with my family in the process. After 15 years with the same TV station, I set my sights on a new goal â€" to move from being a TV news reporter, into a TV news anchor. In the rapidly changing media world I knew news reporters were getting younger and cheaper, while being asking to do much more for less. In addition, the bottom line â€" not the quality of work as a reporting journalist was rapidly becoming the priority for TV news management and this didn’t match with my personal values or ambition. I was on top of my game when my employer wanted me to sign a new 3-year contract. I only asked my employer for one thing: The opportunity to advance my career with fill-in anchor opportunities in addition to my reporting duties. They offered me a pay increase but clearly stated I would not have the opportunity to anchor. I realized that I needed to assess my long-term goals. Did I want to lock myself into a job I already had mastered for three more years, with no option to branch out and learn new skills? Was it worth missing out on my wife and teenage sons’ life events such as holidays, basketball games and band gigs? If I left the TV station, what would I do? Go to another TV station where I might get a better opportunity but more likely would be stuck in the same industry with the same standards and demanding work schedules? Or do something entirely different? A couple of things were clear: I really enjoyed telling stories, producing videos, and helping people become better communicators, and I had built a successful career doing these things. I didn’t want to move to a completely new career, I just wanted to apply my skills in a different way. I had also heard about the freelance media world, where news people could continue to work in the business but on their own terms. This sounded appealing. After my assessment of the situation, and a long talk with my wife (whose support was and still is critical to my success), I knew it was time for me to take the leap of faith. I decided to walk away from my successful job and paycheck and go out on my own. Rich goes on to tell about how he made the decision to quit his job, and the strategies that he put in place to set himself up for success as he ventured out to start his own successful business, AZ Freelance TV.     He talks about how making a decision about changing careers isn’t just about a new job, but that it’s also considering factors such as lifestyle, family, independence and self-management, as well as income and benefits. Just because you get hired in a job, doesn’t mean that you have to stay there forever. Your drive and passion can change over time, and with that, may come the need to change your career. Career changes are hard, but the key lesson out of Rich Dubek’s story is that when you plan ahead, mitigate the risks and set yourself up for success â€" you actually can have it all! â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"- Sherri Thomas is a Career Strategist, international speaker and best-selling author of “The Bounce Back” and “Career Smart â€" 5 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand. “ Get more tips and strategies on how you can bounce back from a layoff, re-org, bad manager or other career threatening setback in my new book, “The Bounce Back” now available on AMAZON and BARNES NOBLE.   You can download the three FREE chapters of THE BOUNCE BACK at http://www.MyBounceBack.com

The Best Resume Writing Service - How They Can Help You

The Best Resume Writing Service - How They Can Help YouMiami is a diverse city and a lot of people who want to move there prefer hiring a resume writing service. This is because the city has some of the best educational institutions, beautiful beaches, exciting nightlife and a great climate. This is why a lot of people choose to relocate to Miami.However, the problem with hiring a professional to write your resume is that they cannot speak different languages like Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, etc. But with this fact you can have a great experience with the services offered by an Miami resume writing service. Besides, if you want to impress your future employer you need to understand how the services are going to do that. And with the help of the services that are available on the Internet, you can learn how.The way how these services go about is very simple. They start by researching the company and they will do a complete background check of the person that you are hiring. Once the i nitial research is done then they will go about picking the candidate that they think will do the best job for you.What most people do not know is that the best resume writer in Miami, the one that would be the best for you, will also be the one that will work according to your time schedule. You would be able to choose the writer that is going to meet you at least two times a month so that you will be able to get your job done in the fastest time possible. So the other services that are available online, where the writer will come in and do all the hard work for you are not even close to being worth it.The best advantage of choosing a professional resume writer in Miami is that you will have someone that is going to meet you in the company office. He will speak to you, ask you questions and make you feel comfortable about them.It is always a good idea to be as open minded as possible when dealing with people. With a resume writing service that understands your needs and time schedu le you will be able to get the most out of your time.If you are looking for something different to help you in the interview process then you should look into Miami resume writing services. There are many of them out there but the best ones will be the ones that use top of the line services. This is because if you don't feel comfortable with them they will not do their job.This is the only way that you can really benefit from the services that are available to you with the help of a resume service. After all you can hire a job in Miami, when you have everything together. It doesn't matter what state you are in; you need to have a professional resume written for you to have a successful career in the city.