Your Why Is Important to the People You Lead

Your Why Is Important to the People You Lead A recent post I did,  Why Are You Doing What Youre Doing?  got a most amazing response. It clearly hit a nerve with so many of you who commented directly to me and through social media. It also made me realize how important it is to the people you lead. The comments ranged from those of you who really wanted to share their why with me, others who had lost sight of theirs and the article gave them the nudge to do something about it, and many who complained that the companies you work for either had no clear why, or was certainly never communicated to you. Sadly, over half of the comments were from those lamenting where their own organizations, or organizations that they once respected, had no real sense of their why. We all need a why: This really made me realize how we all hunger and need to have a clear why articulated to us so that we can feel engaged, and the negative impact it has on an organization of any size where it is not clear, or does not exist. It also clearly indicated the acute hunger that we all have to understand the why of the person we follow. The primary negative effects of the lack of a clear why to my mind are: No sense of belonging. If I have no idea why we are in business then I am only contributing to the greater good, i.e profit, of the owners. There is no higher cause and I am only of value for as long as I am delivering. But I am not part of anything. I am just a number. Similar to the above, but since I am not part of any why, my relationship is purely transactional. I produce, they pay â€" there is nothing more to the relationship than that. Poor commitment. Commitment comes from an emotional connection, and that emotional connection is strongest when linked to a higher cause or purpose. Lack of trust. Being clear on the why helps me to understand the motivation and the values of an organization, and if I cannot understand these, then I have no basis for trust, which is foundational to any business. Lack of trust is a cancer in any group. Poor culture. The culture of an organization is determined by it’s leaders and those leaders will only have true followers when they are open about their why, and their values which informs what they stand for. Without this there is no anchor for the culture, and a culture unattended to is a poor one. There are others but suffice to say that any business that suffers from any, all or a combination of the above is in real trouble! The same can be said of anyone in a leadership role. The other element of the negative impact of the absence of why is on your clients. Now, there are some businesses where this matters less than others, but most certainly if you are in a service industry your why is critical. We all want to do business with organizations where we believe there is a “fit” between our cultures, and having your why in sync is a fundamental element of that “fit”. Sometimes it can be hard to explain in exact words, and that is because your why is not a left brained exercise â€" it comes from within. We also want to do business with companies where we know what they stand for, so that we can be confident that our values, and theirs, are aligned. What is the source of these values? Yes, the why! So being clear on our why is just not something that is important to you to motivate you to jump out of the bed and hit the day running with a high sense of motivation and drive. It is also fundamental to the people you work with â€" your staff and your clients. If your role includes being the one who is trusted to lead, you must clearly articulate your why. If you work for a business that has not got a clear why, then why not ask? Could be an interesting discussion. Check with your people â€" do they know your why? If they don’t what are you going to do about it?

4 Interview Closing Statement Examples to Win the Job - Career Sidekick

4 Interview Closing Statement Examples to Win the Job - Career Sidekick 4 Interview Closing Statement Examples to Win the Job Interview Preparation / https://www.edenscott.com/blog There are a couple of things employers always remember after an interview and one of the big ones is how you close out the interview.Theyll remember if you finished with confidence or seemed nervous. Theyll remember if you reaffirmed your interest in the job, or if you appeared uninterested. (Hint: Its always better to show interest in the position and eliminate all doubt that they have).So in this article, youre going to getfour examples of good interview closing statements to end the conversation and get more job offers.Well also look at what NOT to say and some big mistakes you need to avoid when closing so make sure you read until the end.4 Interview Closing Statement Examples:1. The simple, professional wrap-up:Thank you for your time. It was great meeting with you, NAME! Im looking forward to hearing feedback, and dont hesitate to contact me in the meantime if you have any questions or concerns.The only thing I might add is: Asking about next ste ps and when you can expect to hear feedback, like this:Also, when can I expect to hear feedback, and who will be in touch?So feel free to add that piece, too. This will help you know when tofollow-up and what to expect. You can also get a business card from each person you met with, to make the follow-up process easier if you dont hear from them in a couple of days.Otherwise, Id keep it short and simple, like the script above.Additional reading: How long does it take to hear back after an interview?2. The why you should hire me recapThanks for meeting with me. Im excited about the role, and it sounds like a great fit based on my experience in X and Y. Im looking forward to hearing about the next steps, and dont hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime!And as mentioned in the previous sample interview closing statement, you can then wrap up by asking when to expect feedback.For example, they may say, Likewise, it was great meeting with you. Well be in touch.Then you could say, That sounds great! When can I expect to hear feedback, and who will be in touch with feedback?Then, get their business card and mark your calendar with the date you expect feedback so you can check in with them if that date passes.Now, these next two interview closing statements (#3 and 4) are more upfront. These are how you close an interview and ask for the job directly.3. Asking whats next?The job sounds great. Im definitely interested. What is the next step?This script is a good way to show them youre interested in the job and that youre confident in your ability to perform well in the role.(Its always good to show confidence in your interviews).By asking this at the end of your interview, youll find out whats next in the process, and they may even say theyre reading to offer you the role.If you want to take matters into your own hands and ask them clearly and directly to offer you the position, then this next template is for you:4. The confident as k: How to close an interview and ask for a job directlyIm confident that this is the job I want. Is there anything preventing you from offering me the position today?From here, they may say that they agree, and would like to put an offer together. Or, the hiring manager may say that they need time to meet with their team internally and discuss things. (Or meet with other candidates who they need to interview).So dont panic if you dont hear yes. This was a gutsy, high-confidence move that sometimes works but is sometimes met with a we need time to think. So if thats the case, just say:I understand! Im looking forward to hearing feedback when you and your team have made a decision. Do you have a sense of when I can expect to hear feedback?By asking, you showed them that youre confident and eager to land the position, and youve found out what the rest of the process will look like, which is valuable to know!What *Not* to Say at the End of the Interview:Theres one statement that I see p eople recommend for the end of an interview, that I would never recommend.Heres what people recommend you say:Do you have any concerns about me as a candidate, or any reasons you would not hire me for the position?While this may sound similar to example #4 (above), its not. The example above, which I recommend, is asking about the process overall and finding out whether theyre able to offer you the job based on all factors.This question that I just covered, that I dont recommend asking, is asking them specifically about things they dont like about you as a candidate. And heres why I dont recommend this way to end an interview:It brings the negatives to their attention. Youre asking them to think of reasons they wouldnt hire you the job.Theyre not going to tell you anyway, especially not on-the-spot like thisThe interview just finished and they need time to think about everything! Itd be equally odd if they asked you, So, based on what we talked about, are there are any reasons you w ouldnt accept this job?So if you want to make a lasting impression, finish your job interview with one of the four closing statement examples above.Thats going to impress the interviewer more, get you better results in your job search, and help you find a position faster.Dont Forget About Body LanguageMake sure you conclude your job interview with great eye contact and a firm handshake, too.Body languagematters just as much as what you say in a job interview.You can have the best script in the world for how to end an interview, but if you dont have the body language to back it up, its not going to be as impressive.So think of body language as the other half of the puzzle in your interviews and job search. If you want to ace the interview and leave a lasting impression, make sure you look the part, too.Interview Closing QuestionsYou should also ask questions at the end of your interview (ideally, before closing your interview with one of the 4 example scripts above). This is another way for you to show interest in the job and impress the interviewer.Here are two full articles dedicated to the top questions to ask an interviewer about the position, the company, and more:26 unique questions to ask employers105 good questions to ask an interview (organized by category)Conclusion: What To Do NextAs a next step, practice what youve learned above. Pick the closing statement that suits you best and rehearse it before your interview (including body language and tone of voice). Practice talking slowly and confidently. Practice your handshake with a friend or family member.All of this will help you make a lasting impression with the interviewer so you can move to the next step in the process or receive a job offer for the position!Interviewers meet with a lot of candidates for each job, so practice EVERYTHING we talked about above if you want to make a good impression in the interview.And then, after your job interview, send the interviewer athank-you note or email(I lik e email for most modern industries like tech, retail, healthcare, etc.). This is yet another tactic that will position you firmly in the interviewers mind and boost your chances of being hired.More interview preparation resources:My best job interview tips as a recruiterJob interview preparation checklistCreating a 30-60-90 day plan to impress the interviewer

Whats the Cash Value of Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

What’s the Cash Value of Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Coke. Southwest Airlines. You. I’ve always thought there should be one simple, common sense way to value a corporate brand. It would be something like, “If everything burned down, what could we go to the bank and borrow based on owning the brand name?” In other words, what are the rights to the brand worth, irrespective of its real assets? Of course, that’s not a perfect formula. Rights that survive a calamity encompass more than the brand name. These would include contracts, customers, systems, know-how and other key factors like intellectual property. For example, Coke’s stashed its secret formula in an Atlanta bank vault, so presumably the ingredients list survives the ashen assets. A company like Southwest Airlines might have futures contracts on commodities like fuel, which would be used for coming decades. In October, Interbrand estimated Coke’s brand value at $77.8 billion, up 8% from its 2011 valuation. Coke is the number one most recognized brand in the world, and has been number one on Interbrand’s top brands list for over 13 years. In September 2011, Southwest Airlines â€" the number one US domestic airline and Fortune Magazine’s 4th most admired company â€" was valued in total, including all assets, at about half a billion dollars. Odds are you are more like Southwest Airlines than Coke. That is, you are inextricably tied to your measurable assets, your hard and soft skill-sets. Skills would be the “meat” of your personal brand. You probably don’t have a surfeit of sizzle that smokes the competition. Sizzle is the charismatic quality that the homecoming queen, senior class president, and anyone who wins anything by popular vote has in abundance. The common sense way I like to value your personal brand is simply the answer to this question: “What will we pay you beyond the commodity value of your skill-set, to get you to come work for us?” The more your sizzle-charisma are worth, the more you will be paid. That is why will we pay you more than your education, experience and skills are worth. If you are looking to be paid better than average for work you really want to do, increasing the value of your brand is pretty straightforward. 1. Polish your delivery and presentation skills â€" online and on-ground. Get ready to be a public person, spokesperson or advocate. Learn good manners and practice them. Use a structured style guide to introduce yourself, your topic and your delivery of material, written and verbal. 2. Do the work to become an expert in your industry or sector. Produce original content, aggregate important secondary source material, participate in associations or conferences that allow you to demonstrate your expertise, and hold small study groups on important topics and publish the findings. Put it online in places that would attract attention and engage your tribe. 3. Reach out to your audience or tribe before you need anything. The worst time to introduce yourself is when you need us to take action on your behalf (like hire you). Get in the ether. Start answering those LinkedIn discussion questions and invite members of your groups to link in. Write an article or blog post and ask industry experts to weigh in. Provide insightful comments on YouTube and other public forums. The Pay-off on Personal Branding For every year you work in your field, the cash value of your personal brand should be worth 10-25% more than what we would pay on average for someone else with your skills to do what you do. Give yourself a raise: get branding. Want a tactical plan for polishing your delivery and presentation skills? Email me at Nance@NanceRosen.com. Subject line: presentation skills. Author: Nance Rosen  is the author of  Speak Up! Succeed. She speaks to business audiences around the world and is a resource for press, including print, broadcast and online journalists and bloggers covering social media and careers. Read more at  NanceRosenBlog. Twitter name:  nancerosen

How to Recruit and Retain All-Star Talent [SLIDES]

How to Recruit and Retain All-Star Talent [SLIDES] The employer-employee relationship is broken. Managers face a seemingly impossible dilemma: You can’t afford to offer lifetime employment. But you can’t build a lasting, innovative business when everyone acts like a free agent. The solution: Stop thinking of employees as family or free agents, and start thinking of them as allies on a tour of duty. Co-authored by Reid Hoffman, founder/chairman of LinkedIn, and Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh, The Alliance teaches managers how to recruit, manage, and retain the entrepreneurial employees your business needs to succeed in the networked age. The tour of duty is the way you organise the alliance at work and this framework helped Reid Hoffman  recruit and retain all-star talent  at LinkedIn. Key takeaways: The trouble with modern employment is that after your 90-day probation period, you  will be an “at will” employee who can be fired at any time.  For any reason.  Or for no reason at all. The employer-employee relationship is based on a dishonest conversation: Companies expect employee loyalty without  committing job security or professional development. Employees say they’re loyal, but leave  the moment a better opportunity comes. As a result of this dishonesty, employers continually lose valuable people and employees fail to fully invest in their current job because they’re scanning the marketplace  for new opportunities. Managers are caught in the middle as nobody invests in the long-term relationship and this is why 70% of workers in America are not engaged in their work according to Gallup. The solution is to stop  of employees as family or free agents and start thinking of them as allies on a tour of duty. Employment should be an alliance; a mutually beneficial deal with explicit terms between independent players. This will result in a mutually beneficial alliance  instead of a transactional relationship. A tour of duty has a specific mission with a realistic time horizon, it should be written down and clearly state what benefits there will be for the employee. RELATED: Employee Retention: How to Keep Your Best Talent

2 Things to Keep in Mind When Negotiating Your Salary

2 Things to Keep in Mind When Negotiating Your Salary Whether you’re starting a new job or aiming for a promotion at your current company, you know very well that you would and should be negotiating your salary. But the question is, how?Here are the two most important things to keep in mind when you’re going to negotiate.Before the negotiation: Know your valueevalTo know what your worth is, research will be your greatest ally. Research everything you need know to make a strong rationale as to why you’re asking for a particular amount of salary to have higher chances of making a deal.Knowing your market value or the significance of your talent in the employment marketplace is important to determine how much the market is paying for people like you. Look for sources that would tell you the amount that companies pay for the job you’re considering. Make sure that these sources take into account the size of the company you work for, as well as the industry and region it is in.Meanwhile, you can also calculate the potential value of y our personal skills and background including your education, length of experience, certifications, cultural compatibility, and management responsibility. Focus on what you can do rather than on the numbers.Market to the employer what you’ve done and what you can do before you start talking numbers. Instead of focusing on discussing what you make now, highlight what you can bring to the table.Also, don’t forget to rehearse. Practice what you want to say. Write it down and rehearse it in front of a mirror, on video, or with a friend. This way, you get to be comfortable and more prepared to have the conversation.During the negotiation: Be ready to counterofferYou may be afraid of rejection, but there is no negotiation until someone says “no.” In negotiation, your aim is to be in agreement with a party whose interests are not aligned with yours, and you do so by making adjustments in your arrangements that make a win-win situation for you and the other party Keep in mind, to be honest as well. It’s not uncommon for the company you are applying for to ask about your current salary. It can be tricky especially if you’re underpaid at your current job, but lying is never a good idea.Just tell your current salary or opt to give an approximate number. Don’t forget to mention your benefits, bonuses, and the like as well. Afterward, quickly but smoothly reroute the conversation to explain the pay you’re asking highlighting your new skills and responsibilities, your market value, and the growth you’re looking for.Lastly, be prepared to counteroffer. While it’s never good to be pushy, be firm to hold your ground and not easily accept the first offer that’s put on the table. Employers expect counteroffers, so go ahead and ask for what you’re looking for.Your counteroffer can go beyond base pay, as it includes bonuses, vacation leaves, stock options, and the like. Just make sure that you’ve ascertained to yourself how negotiable you are on each item. evalSee? Negotiating can be terrifying, but if you know the proper way to do it, you can be certain that you’ll be given the amount that you deserve.

Summary Sunday Tips for a December Job Search

Summary Sunday Tips for a December Job Search Your December job search should be in full swing by now, but if not, its not too late! Job searching during the month of December is proven to be one of the best! Companies are eager to bring on new employees in January and are actively searching for candidates! Ive rounded up these articles ranging from holiday job search strategies to tips to fight age discrimination on your resume. Youll also get tips on how to apply to a job online and what new tools you need to be familiar with if job searching. And if you are looking for more help for your December job search, dont forget Job-Hunt.orgs guide, New Year, New Job available at no-cost! JOB SEARCH 14 Festive Strategies That Land Interviews During the Holidays by Lisa Rangel | Chameleon Resumes December is THE BEST time to network for a new job! These 14 tips by Lisa Rangel, Executive Resume Writer, will help you have a little fun while you network. Essential Tools for Todays Advanced Job Search by Bob McIntosh | Job-Hunt.org Do you know how ATS work? Are you using LinkedIns mobile app on your phone? How comfortable are you recording video from your computer or phone? These are just some of the tools addressed. Make sure you are up-to-date on the 7 tools outlined. How To Apply For A Job Online (And ACTUALLY Get An Interview) by J.T. ODonnell | Work It Daily This video is 13 minutes well-spent. If you have ever applied for a job online, then you know how frustrating it can be. What I dont think most job seekers understand is how ineffective this method is. J.T.s tips will help you stand out. LINKEDIN Get Recruiters to Notice You on LinkedIn, with Donna Serdula by Mac Prichard | Macs List Listen to Donna Serdula provide valuable information about how to really get your LinkedIn profile in shape. There are other valuable resources listed in this podcast too. Keywords are super important and impact where your LinkedIn profile shows up in search results. MISCELLANEOUS Worried About Age Discrimination? 9 Things on Your Executive Resume That Show Your Age by Meg Guiseppi | Executive Career Brand Age discrimination exists. However, you shouldnt broadcast your age on your resume. Here are 9 things to be aware of because they may be showing your  age. What Straight-A Students Get Wrong by Adam Grant | The New York Times I wanted to share this because a lot of students get this wrong. It isnt their fault. Throughout their school years, they were told to work hard, get good grades and youll succeed. But perhaps they were being taught the wrong things. I hope you found these helpful. Share with those you think would benefit. And to get this delivered to your inbox every Sunday, subscribe below.

Career Goals - How to Get the Best Results From Resume Writing Services

Career Goals - How to Get the Best Results From Resume Writing ServicesA professional resume writing service may sound like an oxymoron. How can a professional resume writer to help you in your personal goals? In fact, it is possible for a professional resume writer to guide and prepare you well for your career in the job industry, so that you might get the appropriate job that you want.There are many types of resume writing services available in the market. They offer their services to individuals and companies, which make it difficult to select the right one for you. Before selecting the services, you need to find out whether the writers specialize in the type of resume that you want to write. The experts at resume writing services can prepare a professional resume with the right type of details that will help you to get the required job.To get the best results from a resume writing service, you should have a professional resume written by Aurora Co. You can get professional resume writing services in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Texas, Washington D.C., and throughout the United States. Since there are many resume writing services in operation, you should first check the credentials of the writer before hiring them. The professional resume writer should be an experienced professional and should have an impressive portfolio to show.There are many benefits in having a professional resume written by Aurora Co. Firstly, they have the necessary experience in dealing with resumes. The writers at Aurora Co. also have advanced degrees to ensure that the quality of the professional resume written by the company is high.Secondly, the professional resume written by Aurora Co. is cost effective. Since most of the writers are professionals, their rates are quite competitive and you will be able to get your dream job at a low price.Thirdly, you will be able to choose from a list of professionals who will write your free professional resume. This will make the process easier and faster and will save you valuable time.Most of the resume writing services that you come across will charge you for the material provided on your professional resume. So if you want a free resume, you should not worry about the fee charged. It will depend on the size of the resume and the nature of your needs.In order to get the best results from a professional resume, you should be prepared. The information provided on your resume should be accurate and should cover all the important facts. Aurora Co. can help you achieve your career goals by using a resume that covers all the necessary details.