Put Joy in Your Life Every Day

THE SITUATION

In Washington, D.C., at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning, a man with a violin was playing Bach. During the 45 minutes that he was there, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, then hurried off to stay on schedule.

Career Transition: How to Use Your Contacts' Knowledge to Your Advantage

If you are involved in a job search that involves career change you will find social networking sites helpful, especially LinkedIn and your college alumni association.

When you are cycling out of one profession and into another, you can use these sites, and others, to build a network of people who do the target job in your chosen profession and, whenever possible, people who have made a similar transition. Reach out to these new network contacts, to find ways to build bridges between your current profession and the new one. Explain your similar background and ask

Q: What would you say are the major qualities this job demands?

One in a series of answers to tough interview questions

A: The question asks you to define what it takes to be successful in your profession. Answering effectively is going to take some preparation: Read about transferable skills* to understand how successful people become that way. Then complete Target Job Deconstruction*, tying your transferable skills to the job’s priorities as employers see them.

Do this and you’ll not only be able to answer this tough question, you will also have a blueprint for long-term professional success.

You can read about developing transferable skills and Target Job Deconstruction in the early chapters of Knock em Dead 2011, Knock em Dead Resume Templates and Knock em Dead Job Search Letter Templates, and the upcoming Knock 'em Dead Secrets & Strategies for Success in an Uncertain World

Join Martin every week to learn more about writing a killer resume, getting more job interviews and turning job interviews into job offers at his free weekly webcast, Mondays at noon central. Details: http://my.knockemdead.com

How to Use Family and Friends: The Most Difficult Network to Leverage in a Job Search

The good news is that the people who know you best, your family and friends, really want to help you. But it is easy to squander this resource by tapping into before you have thought through how you can best help your extended family help you.

The bad news is that since most of them may have known you since you were a snot-nosed brat, you were categorized, stereotyped, and pigeonholed long ago. Case in point: after thirteen books and millions of copies sold in many languages around the world, my family is still genuinely surprised that I know to come in from the rain.

Smart Google Tricks To Find The Hiring Managers Who Can Hire You.

The shortest job search is always one that focuses on getting into conversation with the people who can hire you, just as quickly and as often as you can. You can rely on the job and resume banks, but this passive approach, relying as it does on the successful intervention of third parties, can keep you looking for that new job longer than you need.

Where Do I Find Success?

A successful career doesn’t happen by accident; it’s the result of consistent effort over time. And, like it or not, a big part of your success in life depends on the way others see you. Proactively shaping how others see you, not just sitting back and passively hoping they see what you’d like them to see, is what we call personal branding. Managing your success by managing your career starts with taking control of your professional persona.

A considered approach to career management that integrates personal branding leads to growing credibility and increased visibility, first within your department, then company, and ultimately your profession. It’s the critical packaging of the “professional you,” and, done right, it drives long-term stability and success. It’s common sense to manage your professional image.

The Biggest Resume Mistake

“The customer is always right” is probably the first business lesson you ever learned. Yet when it comes to creating a résumé, the most financially valuable document you will ever own, no one ever seems to consider what the customer wants.

Your current resume is probably a straightforward recitation of all you have done, it lists everything that you think is important, but despite all your effort this resume isn’t working.

Quote of the Day: Benjamin Franklin on Happiness

 "The Constitution only gives people the right to 

pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

- Benjamin Franklin