Your “Inner Career Coach”

I have been coaching college grads and executives around the country for twelve years in my own practice after thirty years in advertising management and retained executive search. During that time, I have noted the explosive growth of coaching across a range of subjects; health, career, relationships, social media, etc. This surge of demand for coaches is somewhat bewildering, and I think, a bit over-used in many cases.

In general, most of us know what we ought to be doing for ourselves, our families, our jobs and our careers. We just do not listen to our “inner coach”. Instead, we resort to outside help, believing that we really need another person to figure it all out.

As a coach, my practice is designed to help people do a better job of successfully pursuing their careers. But, I sometimes get the feeling that they think I am going to do the heavy lifting for them. This is the same feeling I used to have as a retained search executive. Candidates would come to our office assuming we were there to find them a job. Not so. We were there to satisfy our clients’ needs fo great executives.

The fact is that coaches, recruiters and other human resources professionals are there to guide people and to help them. But, the individual has to do the hard self-assessment, career planning and plan implementation work themselves. Anything less is sure to fail.

Self-understanding and reality testing is critical to being successful. Relying primarily on yourself is critical to being successful. Judiciously hiring coaches is a good idea, but it must be seen as augmenting your efforts, not replacing them.

So, rely on your “inner coach”. Listen to that coach, spend quiet time taking notes, understanding what works for you and what does not. Where do you deserve to work, not want to work? What types of people and working environments are best for you and which ones should you avoid? What types of companies and executives within those companies need you? What is the most effective way to approach them and attract their attention? Your inner coach will provide a great many of those answers.

Once you have done the hard thinking, it may be time to engage a professional coach to help you clarify, refine, and express your candidacy in an excellent resume and bio. The coach’s job should be to encourage, guide and refine your thinking rather than do it all for you. Hopefully, the result will be a faster, more successful career search process at a greatly reduced cost to you in time and money.

2014 New Year’s Career Search Resolutions

2014 New Year’s Career Search Resolutions

To my Clients and Friends (employed or seeking new employment, or career direction), I offer some ideas I have learned as a career strategist and coach to consider as you enter 2014, regarding adding focus and energy to your valuable career. Take some quiet time soon to consider where you are in your career and promise yourself to take specific action steps to enhance your job search or, if employed, to re-affirm your current direction or begin to move into a totally new field of endeavor.

Please consider these resolutions:

1)  Most importantly, I will do some self-assessment work on my own or with a career coach to clearly define and understand who I am, why I am that way, and what I truly need in a job and a career.  I will re-create “my story” so that I can confidently answer that famous question “tell me about yourself” with focus, brevity, and energy.  This step will help me clarify my career objectives and create an effective and vital career search action plan resulting in the right new position or new career for me (I will “look for work, not just a job”).

2)  I will ensure that my resume is current, two pages in length and proofread with a powerful two to three line summary statement at the top of the first page that clearly and attractively defines my professional focus and what I am seeking.  I will ensure that my bio is current and interesting to read and will cause someone to like and want to meet me. I will try to remember to keep my target audience in mind (what they are looking for), rather than just myself, as I create my communications. 

3)  I will ensure my sixty second “elevator speech” is brief and as interesting as my bio.  I will practice delivering it for my search until it is second nature.  It will contain a memorable “button” about me (beekeeper, recently published author, ski champ, etc). I will also be sure to ask others how I can help them in their career search.

4)  I will re-contact my references (three supervisors, three peers, three subordinates) to update them on my career search status, remind them of my key strengths, and thank them for being willing to act as a reference.  I will avoid overusing my references and thank them when I “land” in my next job.  

5)  I will create or reenergize my support network and meet them and new contacts on a weekly or biweekly basis. I will ensure that I am trying to help them as much as seeking their help on my behalf. I will think back on all the people I have ever worked with, including people who used to “sell” to me, and update them on your status. I will realize that everyone understands today’s unpredictable job market and will not be shy regarding reaching out to and following up with people, no matter how senior they may appear to be (they are human, too).

6)  I will create a CRM program (www.freecrm.com) and keep a careful record of all contacts that I have ever made that are pertinent to my career search. I will follow-up on all opportunities with alacrity and energy.

7)  I will draw a forty mile circle around my home and identify all the companies in that circle where I “deserve to work” based on a match between my profile and the company’s profile.  I will learn all that I can via the internet and contacts about how their business could benefit from my expertise, skills, and interests.  I will contact the most likely executives, including board members, to establish relationships that might lead to consulting or employment. These companies will be my primary target list for my job search- I will go after my next job. 

8)  I will consider obtaining presentation skills and interview training to sharpen my presence and confidence in interviews.  I will prepare for the wide range of questions that I will be asked.  I will be expert in how to interview effectively by phone or in person. I will get really adept at using Linked In and other Social Media tools to network with professionally aligned people. I will ensure I am current in my technology skills, am dressing for success, and following a written schedule of meetings and internet job search activities.

9)  I will dedicate a specific amount of time each week, ideally the same days and times, to my career search.  I will treat my search as seriously as I do (did) my job.

10)  If I am not working, I will find a part time job that keeps me feeling active, pays something, and is consistent in some way with my career objectives if possible. I will use LinkedIn and other “groups” to connect with and communicate with people who might prove valuable in my search.

11)  I will keep my family, friends, and support group current regarding my career search, and I will enlist their support and love to keep me energized and focused.

12)  Once I land that next consulting or full time employment, I will thank those who helped and I will keep doing all of the above to be well-prepared for the next “work interruption” or career shift.

Remember, jobs are fleeting; work is eternal.

Happy New Year!

“Be Your Book”- Tips to Getting Your Book Self-Published.

By Peter Engler

Author of the new novel, New & Improved! A Political Thriller

I recently self-published my first novel on Amazon/Kindle, New & Improved! A Political Thriller.  It follows the exciting and dangerous exploits of Ben Coleman, An NYC advertising hotshot creative director. I have been asked by many people, how did you do it?  I thought MENG members would appreciate some insights into what I experienced and learned. And I hope you buy the book and let me know how you liked it!

1.    First, Join a writing group to get your fiction or non-fiction book completed. The group’s support and peer-energy will get you over the hump of beginning, or in my case, completing your book. Listen to their ideas and guidance, but be your own judge of what you want to commit to paper. Conversely, avoid asking family and close friends to read your book; they cannot and will not be objective.

2.    Join a local independent book publishers group to get important expertise, guidance and support. My group, Bay Area Independent Publishers Association in San Rafael, California, was instrumental in publishing on Amazon in September, 2013.

3.    The only way to get your book written is to write regularly, like music practice in grade school. My first novel took over five years to complete, edit, proof-read, re-edit and re-proof. My technique was to write out my chapter headings first to establish the flow of the story. I then “filled in the blanks”. This works for fiction and non-fiction books. I wrote it all down before I edited and re-wrote. Creating character treatments of two to three pages helps you “get to know” your characters if you are writing fiction. You will also learn that your key characters will take over the book and almost write it for you.

4.    Get a good editor. They work magic on your precious copy. Let them! It is the best money you will spend.

5.    Get a good proof-reader, or two. I am sure that some typos still lurk in my new novel in spite of having had three different proof-readers scour the novel.

6.    Get Educated. There are numerous on-line bloggers with very helpful guidance on self-publishing issues. I recommend: Joel Friedlander (www.thebookdesigner.com), Judy Baker (www.brandvines.com), Ruth Schwartz (www.thewonderlady.com), and Penny Sansevieri, (www.amarketingexpert.com).

7.    Work with an experienced Create Space layout consultant. Again, money well-spent. Create Space, a division of Amazon.com, is a great book-planning site, but it has many quirks and you may risk losing momentum if you get frustrated at this stage. I understand that 80% of new books are listed on Amazon.com vs. other sites like Apple Books and Barnes & Noble. I plan to work exclusively with amazon.com for the first few months to gain presence on their site.

8.    Plan your marketing campaign months prior to publication. Get a self-publishing name/url (mine is www.Grantham Press- my middle name), build a Wordpress website that is designed to feature your novel, provide an entertaining bio and picture, “capture” email addresses via an offer (I offer a free copy of one of my short stories), solicits their comments on your site and novel, and directs them to your Amazon novel page. You should also have a blog section, and a section describing your next book (with some chapters to wet their interest).

9.    Develop business cards or postcards with your cover on one side and a call-to action on the other with specific links to your Amazon book page.

10. Solicit reviews, even pre-publication. They are useful for inclusion in the front section of your book or the back cover, on your Amazon book page, and in various marketing pieces.

11. Add a page at the end of the book (after your bio) that is a “Dear Reader, please review my book on Amazon” appeal. It is a nice note expressing your appreciation for buying your book and solicits a review on your novel’s Amazon home page (scroll down the page to find this section). Reviews are very important as a means of encouraging people to buy your book.

12. Plan book signings, speaking engagements, blogs on appropriate sites, etc. to build awareness and interest in your book. This is also helpful in deciding what you will write about next!

13. HAVE FUN! Self-publishing will feel very overwhelming to you, but if you make it a bit of a game, set yourself reasonable outcomes each week and month, you will end up like me, a PUBLISHED AUTHOR. And no one can take that away from you….that one book with your name on it on your bookshelf.

14. Finally, BE YOUR BOOK. Get a t-shirt with your publishing logo on the front, and the book cover on the back. Get some coffee cups and ball caps from www.vistaprint. com . Wrap yourself in your book, EMBRACE YOUR BOOK…..BE YOUR BOOK. GOOD LUCK!

THE VALUE OF “HELPING”

This may appear obvious or even a bit sophomoric, but the primary reason any of us has a job is that a company or organization needs someone to HELP them accomplish certain goals.  

They do not necessarily need a VP of Marketing, Product Manager, Channel Marketer. Those are job titles.

What they really need is HELP.  Help introducing new products, help leading teams, help conducting consumer research, help setting sales and pricing plans.  The need for HELP is inexhaustible.

So, what does this mean to all of us, either employed or seeking new employment?

I think it means we have to communicate, promise, convince and live a message of helping others, rather than focusing on ourselves.

We spend a great deal of time writing and selling ourselves through resumes, bios, emails, websites, LinkedIn profiles, etc.  Mostly, those communications are all about us.  Not them.  The people (companies, organizations, consultancies, etc) who need our HELP.  That  is,our commitment to help, not just lead, market, research, study, introduce products, etc.  

 

HELP is an ATTITUDE, not a just another line in your resume.  It should be expressed in your professional “key selling statement”; that brief set of words that clearly describes and sets you apart in terms of who you are, how you want to help, and where you want to do that helping.

Here is an example of such a statement at the front of a resume:

A collegial and creative financial services marketing executive, with special ability to build consensus and action among a diversified team of professionals, seeking to help a mid-sized company or organization achieve mission-critical objectives in a timely, cost-effective and profitable fashion.

This statement briefly defines your unique value, indicates your spirit of helpfulness (you are a sensitive team-builder and leader, not someone who might upset the apple cart in the process), and states the nature of the company where you wish to work.

It knits YOU and THEM together in the spirit of helpfulness.

I think this is the essence of a contract between a professional and a company.

Should you agree, I hope you will consider adjusting your communications and your personal approach to new opportunities, relationships and challenges with HELPING high on your list of tools.

Good luck!