November 2016

Monthly Archives: November 2016

Landing your Ideal Dream Job

Nov 21, 2016 Comments

Landing your ideal dream job can be a challenge and even a lifetime project. First you must know what your dream job looks and feels like. Yes, it does take some reflection.

An ideal dream job might be something that you don’t have right now and it could be a job you outgrow after a while.

In this article, I am not going to talk about how to figure out what your ideal dream job is or how to write the best resume. There are tons of searchable information about that online already.

Once you are quite clear on what you are looking for and the type of company you want to work for I suggest the following to get attention and stand out.

Cover letter for your Dream Job

Writing a great cover letter shows that you want the job and are willing to do what many people are not.

Research well about the company and the people who work there. What are there projects and plans? Who are there customers?

Make the letter very specific to the job. Explain how your skills, experience and interests coincide with the job and the company.

Express what you can contribute to the company and its goals and objectives. Use your research to make it specific.

Too many people write generic cover letters that every recruiter sees through and puts aside.

Personal contacts to land your Dream Job

Business is about who you know and trust. Hiring is a business decision. Every manager is responsible for results in their department and the new staff member is employed to contribute to those results.

Do everything you can to connect with the hiring manager or HR person that is part of the employment decision. Call them by phone, connect over Linkedin, email and whatever way you can. Make it personal.

The fact is that over 40% of hiring is done through word of mouth. Who do you know that knows someone that works where you want to. Use your contacts to help you make a connection.

Summary

Using a well-crafted cover letter will begin the process to differentiate yourself.

Often several well qualified people are applying for the same job. It’s important to speak to the hiring manager or team member to express your passion for what you do and make an impression.

Landing your ideal dream job takes work but so does everything worth attaining that is ideal for you.

Employers

Employers wishing to attract people seeking their dream job need to re-think how they market themselves as an employer of choice. It’s not just about marketing but more about becoming a sought-after employer. Think about what that would mean for your organization.

Improve Personal Productivity for High-Paced People

Nov 08, 2016 Comments

Most people, especially high achievers want to improve personal productivity and get more done in a day. I recently was not feeling as productive as I would like and decided to revise my daily planning. I also thought about the cause for my low productivity and here is my conclusion and plan to improve.

I’ve concluded that there are three things that affect personal productivity, especially for high-pace people. These are often referred to as type A personality types, driver, achievers, etc.

personality type
personal motivation
focus

Personality type

People who are often referred to as type A personality types, driver, achievers, etc. tend to be high paced individuals. They incline to have more difficulty focusing on one thing at a time and thus engage in multitasking. This often means less focus on details, forgetting things because of too many things going on and high stress.

Lower paced individuals tend to have more patience to focus on the details and prefer to do one thing at a time.

High paced people may tend to flip from one time management system to another rather than learning to slow down and focus.

I am higher paced type and have suffered from these symptoms for years, so I am always interested to improve personal productivity.

Personal motivation to improve personal productivity

When one is motivated to accomplish things on the to do list there is less procrastination and more vigor for completing the tasks.

80% of the tasks performed in a day should be enjoyable otherwise you may avoid many of them. In other words, your highly important tasks related to projects and goals should be what you enjoy doing most of the time. If they are not, then you need to do some personal reflection regarding your job and the choices you’ve made. Perhaps you have not delegated or assigned tasks adequately.

Many people waste a lot of time indulging in distracting but seemingly enjoyable activities such as spending time on social networks, playing video games and chit chatting online. If problematic, these are signs of low motivation and personal satisfaction.

Focus to improve personal productivity

Physical and mental energy can affect focus as well as personal motivation. You need to make sure you’re getting enough rest, eating well and exercising regularly.

You also need a system or process in place to manage your tasks and time constraints.

Using a to-do List to improve personal productivity

Here is a good system you may want to consider o improve personal productivity. Keep an ongoing list of tasks related to projects and goals. I keep adding to my list using Google tasks, which is accessible in Gmail. I review this list every day and then choose 3 to 7 tasks that I want to accomplish on a given day. I write this down in OneNote in my Surface tablet. You can keep a notebook dedicated to your daily to do list if you prefer pen and paper.

Each day I review the list several times and cross out what I have accomplished. I find doing my list this way helps me feel like I’m accomplishing important tasks daily.

If some items keep getting written down over and over you may want to question their importance and delete them for your lists. IF they become important again you will remember to write them down.

Attitude

Keeping a positive attitude regarding your progress in becoming better organized and productive is important to stay on track. If you are not happy with your focus or progress, look at what’s working and what’s not. Come up with simple ways to improve and focus on one improvement at a time.

Rewards

It’s important to recognize progress and celebrate success. Find ways to reward yourself for staying focused and productive.