Career Planning

Let’s have Coffee and Set Career Goals to get Ahead

December 12, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Job search is a game of numbers.

The more you reach out, the faster you will find a job. This is true whether you are laid off or seeking to move along in your career.

What distinguishes a successful career transition? It takes two parts hard work and a dash of good luck.

And a lot of coffee.

I like to talk about career growth and job transition in units of coffee. Lots of great relationships are built around coffee. Relationships lead to opportunities. Building relationships is the core of networking. So it stands to reason that the coffee we drink while building relationships can be an important currency.

To jump start your career, start by setting goals to get ahead around coffee. How many coffees do you want to have each week? The more coffee, the faster your job search transition will move. The trick is convincing the right people to have coffee with you. So let’s set some goals to boost the amount of coffee you have.

How many email / IM conversations in LinkedIn does it take to set up coffee with someone? In my personal experience and observations of my clients it takes about 3 or 4 email / IM exchanges to get your target to be comfortable agreeing to coffee.

It doesn’t work every time but it does work.

How many connections does it take to get one connection to agree to coffee? In my experience not everyone you reach out to will agree to have a conversation with you sufficient to result in coffee. So plan to reach out to at least five people to get one person to have 3 to 4 email / IM exchanges to agree to have coffee. Make sense?

Now we can set up some numbers. Let’s say you really hate your current job. You decide you want to have 5 coffee per week. That means you have to have 4 email / IM exchanges with at least 25 people per week because only 1 out of 5 at best will probably agree to coffee. Get it?

If it takes about 5 contacts to get 1 coffee, then you better get cracking! Set your goal. Want to have 1 coffee per week? Then you need to start conversations with at least 5 people to find one of those five contacts who will agree to coffee. Feeling more relaxed and only want to have 1 coffee per month, then you can slow down and only target 5 people per month.

The pace is up to you. The trick is setting a goal, whatever goal makes sense for YOU! Make a contract with yourself. It could look something like this:

I want to have _____ coffees per _(period)_____,

so I promise myself to reach out to ______ people per _(period)______,

so I can have _____ email / IM conversations per _(period)_____.

You can’t just call someone up out of the blue to ask them to coffee. They probably won’t agree to take time away from their busy schedule to have coffee with you unless there is something in it for them or they feel safe (no one wants to have coffee with a crazy person!). You have to start a conversation to find something in common. In Part 2 of this discussion we will cover what to talk about to build relationships. It is not what you think! Stay tuned for next week’s blog!

**Get the confidence you need with a FREE copy of The Interview Doctor’s Job Requirements Comparison List and prepare yourself to prove with evidence that you can do the job!**

Which Fish are YOU in the Work Pond?

December 5, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Are you a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a very small pond?

This article is an excerpt from out BizTV video, which can be viewed online, simply click this link.

Which fish are you? Why are we talking about fish in November?

Jane is an up and coming financial analyst who wants to be a Chief Financial Officer someday. She has some choices to make about her next role.

She could take that job as a Financial Planning Manager in Gigantic Corporation, a multi-billion dollar corporation with dozens of divisions. She would be one of many in that role. The company is mature, growing steadily. She can see a long future career path in leadership roles in one of those divisions. But she also anticipates the bureaucracy and politics that comes from a huge company. She would be a little fish in a big pond.

Or she could take that role as a Chief Financial Officer in the small but fast growing start up. Less stable but she could be her own boss right away instead of waiting. She could have immediate impact.

Small fish in a big pond? Or big fish in a very small pond?

This could be the most important career decision Jane or anyone makes. Each choice leads to a different path.

Here are three tips to make a smart career decision:

Which people do you prefer? Do you see mentors and colleagues or potential foes? Consider whether you want to work with that team hour after hour, day after day for years in the future.
Which culture matches your workstyle and lifestyle values? People come and go but the culture will probably stay the same so you better feel like you fit from the inside out.
What is your tolerance for risk? The smaller pond is much riskier. But the rewards might be great if you can tolerate the risk.

I have a pretty high tolerance for risk compared to some people. I also like to have immediate impact without bureaucracy. I often chose to be a big fish in a smaller pond. It worked for me but it does not always work for other people.

Don’t make such an important decision based on money or perks. Fit beats money every day. Be the right fish in the right pond for your career satisfaction.

Want to advance your career but not sure what to do? Check out The Interview Doctor’s Career Advancement Tip Sheet to lay a foundation for your career growth. To get your FREE copy, click here.

Get Off that Hamster Wheel!

October 3, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Brains are funny things.

We take for granted that our heads sit on our shoulders while our brain does its thing. We learn, we make mistakes, all the while unaware that each action has an impact on our brains. Is that cool or what?

There is a theory about that. Intentional Change Theory argues that our brains grow and change through self-discovery. I am vastly over simplifying this complex research by Dr. Richard Boyatzis and his team at Case Western Reserve University. A recent lecture from Dr. Melvin Smith on this topic was most enlightening. It seems to me that the bottom line is that we grow the most through big picture thinking.

This was a surprise to me. I am a list maker. I love to check off tasks on my way to a big goal. I seldom think about where I am going except in the most practical terms. All that stuff about dreams makes me quite uncomfortable.

I want to achieve $XX revenue this year. I know the steps I have to take to achieve that goal. I know how many clients I need, how many speaking engagements, and how many LinkedIn connections I have to add. I am consumed by these tasks.

Does all that work really contribute to my personal growth and development? Or am I on a hamster wheel?

Intentional change theory suggests that I might make more progress and my brain might grow if I look at a bigger picture more frequently to put the tasks into perspective. I can achieve more substantial results through coaching to have a reminder of this perspective.

Instead of focusing exclusively on those daily and weekly tasks, focus on the bigger picture. “How did my work this week move me towards my goal?”

This also begs the question of whether my goal is big enough. Sure I want to earn $XX revenue. What if I focus on my mission in The Interview Doctor which is to teach people how to achieve career goals so they can achieve their own dreams. THAT is a big lofty goal.

This changes my question from “achieve $XX revenue” to “how did my work this week help someone achieve their career goals?” After I ask the big question I get a certain perspective that makes the revenue question make sense. And my brain grows while my business can grow faster because I focus on giving and sharing with others!

The funny thing is that my work with my business coach focuses on this big picture. I just usually ignore the big picture to focus on the tasks. I have had the power all along to grow faster and further but I completely missed the point!

What does this mean for you? Are you living for a loftier mission or are you on a hamster wheel of activities that make the days pass? Which would you prefer?

Focus on the big picture of what you want in life. Check out our Career Advancement Tip Sheet for steps to help achieve your big lofty goal!

Are Your Priorities in Order?

September 7, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

The signs are everywhere that the generation in their 20s, 30s, and 40s live life large.

Travel, outdoors, hobbies, activities with friends and family take top priority in their lives.

They look at life different from their parents. Parents like me worked until they dropped, seeking approval that often never came from bosses who never seemed satisfied.

Two ends of a work life spectrum. Which is better? “Better” implies judgement, that one way is wrong and another is right. We have enough of that kind of judgement in politics. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If we work to live rather than live to work, we draw boundaries around areas of life that are most important to us.

Brett chose to be a real estate appraiser. He is good at it. But he also loves the flexibility and freedom to work at home on his own time to accommodate his hobbies. He works hard but appreciates that he can draw a line and be done for the day in a way that I never could.

I appreciate this balance myself. For years as an HR executive I worked a million hours. My husband, mother and sister chauffeured the kids around. I stepped in where I could. I started my own company in 2004 to satisfy my professional interests, yes, but a big part was to give myself the flexibility to be near my daughter and mother when they needed me most. I could pick up my daughter after school to hear that chatter that only happens in driving conversations. Having breakfast with my mom in this relaxed manner allowed me to get to know her in a personal way I never imagined possible. I cherish those moments that only happened through a more healthy work life balance.

Work / life balance is NOT just a trend. It is a powerful need to give priorities to important life issues.

Young people have the right idea: work to live, not live to work.

How are you prioritizing what is important in your life? What did you do recently outside of work to make a difference?

Are you frustrated with little success trying to find a new job or career? Do you feel isolated because everyone you know is working and you have no one to share your struggles with? You are NOT alone! Join a group of people who face similar career issues as you do with the Free 5 Week Resume and Job Search Challenge to get your career search jump started today!

Are You a Career Dinosaur?

August 29, 2017 By Marta Goertzen

Are you staying ahead of the crowd in your career and your career field?

The other day I had coffee with a friend, Paul, who used to be in recruiting. Now he is VP Sales for a wonderful background check service, PreTrax. I was curious why he left executive search. His story struck me.

Paul said twenty years ago he predicted that artificial intelligence would replace the headhunter so he planned his next career.

Let that sink in a minute.

A couple of things about this statement are startling.

Artificial intelligence will replace the recruiter? Twenty years ago? Wow. I didn’t see that coming. And yet here we are.

This morning in my LinkedIn feed I found this advertisement for a recruiting robot. Paul was right!

Paul correctly predicted that a robot using artificial intelligence (AI) would be able to absorb a job description then go into the Internet to places like LinkedIn to find people whose profiles match the keywords describing the ideal candidate. The AI would screen the candidates then forward to the hiring manager the names and contact information of candidates out in the world who match the criteria, thus eliminating the need for a person to take these steps.

No more headhunter soon. Time to find another gig.

Paul planned his second career because he saw into the future that his present career would disappear. He didn’t wait until Ally the Recruiting Robot delivered the termination notice. Paul is happy, healthy and successful in his new career that he chose in his own timeframe.

We can pull a lot of lessons from this story:

Does your social media profile in LinkedIn and other social media platforms allow you to be found by Ally the Recruiting Robot or a real headhunter looking for someone like you? Are you using the right keywords? Do you even know what those keywords are? If not, get on it right now because the future is here.
Are you thinking about your future? What game changers are coming at you down the road that will impact your career? What are you willing to do about it right now to prepare for the future?

Don’t get caught in a dead end career or in a dead end company. Think realistically about your future. Be prepared for the next step before you have to take it. Utilize all your resources including social media platforms to publicize your strengths.

The Interview Doctor can help you get started. Don’t settle for a mediocre career that you don’t want! LinkedIn offers many ways to find the ideal job or career for you! Get your FREE copy of the LinkedIn Career Advancement Tips and find the perfect career today.