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| 8/1/2009 |
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View Sample Strong College Profile plus Newly Revised Strong & MBTI Career Report
https://www.skillsone.com/Pdfs/smp284260.pdf
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| 8/1/2009 |
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View Sample Newly Revised Strong Profile, High School & Strong Interpretive
https://www.skillsone.com/Pdfs/smp284210.pdfReturn to top |
| 8/1/2009 |
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How to Improve your Soft Skills
There are many different soft skills; these are just a few:
Speaking. Verbal communication is highly valued by all professional organizations. Unfortunately, many people lack strong speaking skills. The good news is that you can easily improve with just a little practice.
A great way to improve your speaking skills is to volunteer to give group presentations. Start small (within your team), then graduate to larger presentations. Another great way to enhance your speaking and presenting skills is to join Toastmasters International, which is a non-profit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. They are located worldwide, so you should have an easy time locating a local chapter.
Listening. Often, the most important part of effective communication is listening. It is important to not only hear the message you are given, but to actively listen and understand the entire message. Many mistakes are made because people do not take the time to fully comprehend the message or instructions they were given.
To improve your listening skills, pay attention to the speakers words and actions. You can learn a lot from body language. Allow the speaker to finish before responding or judging what they have said. Take notes and review them with the speaker to ensure you received the message as it was intended. Providing feedback allows you to mentally process everything you heard.
Writing. Strong written communication skills are paramount to success. It is important to be able to concisely convey your message in multiple formats including reports, letters, e-mail, online work and more.
To improve your writing skills, take the time to proofread what you have written. Small mistakes can often be corrected with a quick review. Utilize the built in spell check and grammar functions found in many productivity software applications. Other tips to improve your written communication skills include having another person proof read documents, submitting white papers to professional publications, and reviewing grammar rules online. A good place for this is Daily Writing Tips.
Leadership. Good leaders are hard to find. Leaders needs to be aware of more than just their role within a team, but how each member in the group contributes to a common goal and how to steer the group toward that goal.
Some people say leaders are born and and they cannot be taught. I disagree. In fact, I think anyone can learn basic leadership skills, and some people may even grow to become great leaders. All it takes is exposure to leadership principles, the desire to lead, opportunity, and practice.
To improve your leadership skills, begin with reading a few books or online articles about leadership. You can also consider taking a course at a local community college or as part of an MBA program. Once you have some leadership principles ingrained, you need to practice, practice, practice. Observe leaders in your workplace, volunteer to lead small groups and team efforts, and take on additional duties if necessary. Finally, do not confuse leadership with authority. You do not have to be the high man on the totem pole to be a leader.
Teamwork. Just as good leaders are essential to accomplish tasks in the corporate environment, so are solid team members. Even if your daily role is primarily one where your work alone, you need to be aware of how your work affects others.
To improve your value as a team member, consider how your actions affect other people who are working on a related task. Do your actions help them or hinder them? Another great way to become a better team member in the workplace is to participate in group sporting events and other social activities.
There are many more soft skills
The soft skills listed above are some of the soft skills most frequently asked about during interviews. However, there are many more soft skills out there and it benefits you to recognize what they are and how to improve them.
You can further break down soft skills into Personal Qualities and Interpersonal Skills:
Personal Qualities are those which are inherent to the way you act on a day to day basis. These include personal responsibility, self-esteem, self-management, integrity, honesty, self-motivation, self-discipline, decision making, and more.
Interpersonal Skills deal with your interactions with others. Some of these include: teaching and instructing, serving client and customer needs, negotiation, persuasion, cultural awareness, conflict resolution, etiquette, and more.
Think about how you perform in the workplace. Your value to your employer is often driven not only by the degrees and certifications you hold, but how well you work and interact with others. Sharpen your soft skills. Improve your professional prospects.
This article originally appeared as a guest post on BripBlap.com, a personal finance and career journal.
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| 7/1/2009 |
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High Demand for Skilled Labor
June 24, 2009
Despite Recession, High Demand for Skilled Labor
By LOUIS UCHITELLE
Just as the recession began, Chris McGrary, a manager at the Cianbro Corporation, set out to hire 80 experienced welders. Only now, 18 months later, is he completing the roster.
With the unemployment rate soaring, there have been plenty of applicants. But the welding test stumped many of them. Mr. McGrary found that only those with 10 years of experience and not all of them could produce a perfect weld: one without flaws, even in an X-ray. Flawless welds are needed for the oil refinery sections that Cianbro is building in Brewer, Me.
If you dont hire in a day or two, the ones that can do that, Mr. McGrary said, they are out the door and working for another company.
Six million jobs have disappeared across the country since Mr. McGrary began his quest. The unemployment rate has risen precipitously to 9.4 percent, the highest level in nearly 30 years, and most of the jobs that do come open are quickly filled from the legions of seekers. But unnoticed in the governments standard employment data, employers are begging for qualified applicants for certain occupations, even in hard times. Most of the jobs involve skills that take years to attain.
Welder is one, employers report. Critical care nurse is another. Electrical lineman is yet another, particularly those skilled in stringing high-voltage wires across the landscape. Special education teachers are in demand. So are geotechnical engineers, trained in geology as well as engineering, a combination sought for oil field work. Respiratory therapists, who help the ill breathe, are not easily found, at least not by the Permanente Medical Group, which employs more than 30,000 health professionals. And with infrastructure spending now on the rise, civil engineers are in demand to supervise the work.
Not newly graduated civil engineers, said Larry Jacobson, executive director of the National Society of Professional Engineers. Whats missing are enough licensed professionals who have worked at least five years under experienced engineers before taking the licensing exam.
While these workers might be lured away by higher offers in a robust economy, they should be more plentiful when overall business demand is as slack as it is now.
For these hard-to-fill jobs, there seems to be a common denominator. Employers are looking for people who have acquired an exacting skill, first through education often just high school vocational training and then by honing it on the job. That trajectory, requiring years, is no longer so easy in America, said Richard Sennett, a New York University sociologist.
The pressure to earn a bachelors degree draws young people away from occupational training, particularly occupations that do not require college, Mr. Sennett said, and he cited two other factors. Outsourcing interrupts employment before a skill is fully developed, and layoffs undermine dedication to a single occupation. People are told they cant get back to work unless they retrain for a new skill, he said.
None of this deterred Keelan Prados from pursuing a career as a welder, one among roughly 200,000 across the nation. At 28, he has more than a decade of experience, beginning when he was a teenager, building and repairing oil field equipment in his fathers shop in Louisiana. Marriage to a Canadian brought the Pradoses to Maine, near her family. And before Mr. Prados joined Cianbro, an industrial contractor, he ran his own business, repairing logging equipment out of a welding and machine shop on the grounds of his home in Brewer.
The recession dried up that work, and last December, he answered one of Mr. McGrarys ads. I welded a couple of pieces of plate together for them and two pipes, and they were impressed, Mr. Prados said. In less than two weeks, he was at work on Cianbros oil refinery project, earning $22 an hour and among the youngest of Mr. McGrarys hires, most of whom are in their mid-30s to early 40s.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not track how often Mr. Pradoss experience applying for a job and quickly being offered it is repeated in America in the midst of huge and protracted unemployment. A bureau survey counts the number of job openings and the number of hires, but the data is not broken down by occupation.
The Conference Board, a business organization in New York, comes closer. In a monthly count of online job openings listed on Monster.com and more than 1,200 similar Web sites it breaks the advertised openings into 22 broad occupational categories and compares those with the number of unemployed whose last job, according to the bureau, was in each category. In only four of the categories architecture and engineering, the physical sciences, computer and mathematical science, and health care were the unemployed equal to or fewer than the listed job openings. There were, in sum, 1.09 million listed openings and only 582,700 unemployed people presumably available to fill them.
The Conference Boards hard-to-fill openings include registered nurses, but the shortage is not as great as it was before the recession, particularly in battered states like Michigan and Ohio, said Cheryl Peterson, a director of the American Nurses Association.
Until the downturn, it was easy for experienced registered nurses to find employment right in their communities, in whatever positions they wanted, Ms. Peterson said. Now it is a little more difficult because the number of job openings has fallen and we have more retired nurses, in need of income, coming back.
That does not hold for nurses who have a decade of experience caring for critically ill people, particularly in hospital recovery rooms, said Dr. Robert Pearl, chief executive and chairman of the Permanente Medical Group, a big employer of medical professionals. There are probably more nurses recently trained than there are jobs for them, he said, but for those with the highest level of skill and experience, there are always openings. And at $100,000 in pay.
That is also the case for geological engineers like Diane Oshlo, who was hired last month by Kleinfelder, a professional services firm headquartered in San Diego that takes on big projects, like the environmental cleanup work Ms. Oshlo is doing in Corpus Christi, Tex., at the site of an inactive oil refinery. Engineers like her, skilled in petroleum, are in short supply, and those who are also professional geologists are even rarer.
That made Ms. Oshlo, 50, a hot prospect when she decided to relocate from Chicago, where she had lived for years, doing similar work for a similar firm. Margaret Duner, a Kleinfelder recruiter, spotted her rsum when it arrived in the spring in response to a job ad, and quickly brought her into the hiring process. Diane stood out, Ms. Duner said.
Two other firms to which Ms. Oshlo sent rsums also quickly offered work. What swayed her was not the $65,000 salary there will be raises and bonuses soon, Ms. Duner said but Kleinfelders willingness to pay to move her to Corpus Christi.
I told the two others I couldnt wait, Ms. Oshlo said. They offered roughly the same pay, but they werent sure about the relocation package.
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| 6/1/2009 |
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Be Creative in Your Job Search
Be creative, go extra mile when job searching.
Marvin Walbert is a job search consultant based in Birmingham, Ala. He can be contacted at P.O. Boz 130757, Birmingham, AL 35213. mwalberg@bellsouth.net.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. the original outplacement company. The current job market requires a much more aggressive approach, as well as some creativity. That does not mean using colored resume paper. It means that you will have to find new ways to get in front of hiring authorities, look where other people are not and be willing to take jobs that most people would avoid, Challenger said.
, Sounds like Do what others fail to do!
Challenger offers additional advice for entry-level candidates such as college graduates. I suggest that these same ideas work for any seeker. Heres what Challenger offers:
Advertise your job search. Use the network you have cultivated, including former bosses, internship supervisors, teachers, and classmates. Do not hesitate to approach former professors to go over your resume and find job leads.
Have a seat and stay awhile. If there is a company for which you want to work, but you cannot get an appointment with the manager of the specific department, then show up at the persons office and simply wait until he or she gives you 10 minutes. You have nothing to lose.
Show up early and often. The manager you need to talk with will most likely have free time before or after normal work hours. If normal hours are 9 to 5, show up at 8 a.m. or arrive at the end of the day and be prepared to stay until 6 to make a compelling case as to why you deserve an interview.
Use your research skills on the Web. You can find virtually anyone or any company on one of the hundreds of social and professional networking sites like Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter.
Create your own job fair. Plan a social event and invite friends and family who are working. Create business cared with contact info.
Join professional associations. Practically every profession has an associated society or member organization. Join and network.
Land that interview. Listen actively and answer questions succinctly. Be prepared to sell yourself.
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| 5/1/2009 |
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Mentoring
One of the common threads I've found when interviewing people who have lost their jobs over the last year is the optimism most of them feel when they're first laid off. That lasts for about four or five months. Then, you can hear it in their voices: they're scared and frustrated and feel very, very alone.
I've been without work so I know how they feel. But recently I did a story on mentors -- how they can help your career not only when you have a job, but especially when things aren't going so hot. And while no one was portraying the mentoring experience as all fun and games -- it takes a lot of hard work and sometimes your mentor drives you a bit batty -- those I interviewed credited mentors with adding a lot to their lives.
I think we've all got to invest more in ourselves, no matter what our employment status. We need people in our corner, through good times and bad. Without those relationships, I think we risk making unnecessary mistakes, of letting good opportunities pass us by because of our own ignorance or perhaps our own fear. As this story show, mentoring may be just what we need:
Sometimes in our careers we need a kick in the pants. We need someone to push us, to make us see whats possible and how we can get there. For people like Linda Swindling, that point came in college. For Christopher Wright, it came when he was enduring a job he hated.
Both turned to mentors. People in their lives who came along, saw their strengths and weaknesses and for no pay at all gave them invaluable advice that helped them land at better places in their career.
Now, at a time when most of us are confused and stressed about our jobs and career paths, mentoring programs appear to be more popular than ever even employers are seeing the value in offering such support to employees.
Beth Carvin, CEO and president of Nobscot Corp., a retention management consulting firm in Honolulu, says that the companys mentoring division, Mentor Scout, is currently doing a booming business. The program helps companies set up mentoring programs.
Its a way for companies to develop their talent, and its cost effective because theyre utilizing their resources internally, Carvin says. Were seeing a huge growth in mentoring.
Currently, about 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer mentor programs, but experts say no one in this economy should wait for an employer to find them a mentor.
A lot of people dont even think of it until they lose a job, Carvin says. You really need to think of it when you have a job.
Swindling, a Dallas-based speaker and author, says that shes used mentors since her college days, and still relies on them. Mentors have really given me a push when I need it. They remind me of stuff Im not doing and give me a different perspective, she says.
Wright credits his mentor from decades ago with giving him the skills he needed to run his own mechanical engineering practice. He was very open about what he was doing and very patient with my persistent questions and in helping me fix my mistakes, Wright says.
Still, even with the fond memories for Swindling and Wright, both say that those going into a mentoring relationship need to understand its not always enjoyable.
The truth is that just like with any relationship, there are downsides. My mentor got impatient with me at times, and there were times when I felt he could be too verbose. He could be maddeningly discursive, Wright says.
Swindling adds: You find some people who say they can help you and theyre lying. They just want you to help them sell their stuff. They want to use you.
If youre considering a mentoring relationship, those interviewed for this story have some advice. They say you should:
1.Plan ahead. Nobody wants to just have you walk up to them and say, I want you to be my mentor. Youll freak them out. Tell them that you have a problem, and what you need from them in terms of help, Swindling says. Different mentors can be used for different aspects of your life. Dont ask someone to do it all.
Carvin adds that you should review your past jobs and relationships, weighing the best person to help you. A former boss? A Co-worker? Someone from an industry group? Be thoughtful when you contact them, saying who you are, why you have chosen them and what you hope to gain. Also talk about what you expect from them in terms of time, Carvin says.
2.Be patient. It took a while to get close to my mentor. It was about two or three years before we really trusted one another. I trusted him to respond to my stupid questions, and he trusted me to ask about the things I didnt know, Wright says. We were completely honest with one another.
While not all mentoring relationships last for years, and may only be in place to complete a specific goal or project. Swindling, who now often serves as a mentor herself, says that mentoring is very time consuming so you must always be respectful and decide what would be the best use of the mentors time. Sometimes Ill say to someone who wants my help: What are the top two things that we need to discuss?
3.Be realistic. Keep in mind that rarely is the mentor going to be able to give you a job or introduce you to the person who has an immediate need. More likely, the mentor will help you down the path quicker and with more insight, which can later give you an edge on other job seekers, Swindling says.
She also points out that mentors can help you submit a resume at a higher level and protect you from automatic outs like a spelling error on your resume.
4.Be observant. I dont know how many times Ive gone to a convention and been seated right next to someone who can help me, Swindling says. People love to give back.
Wright says he met his longtime mentor who has since passed away when he drove him back to his hotel after a business meeting. We must have sat in the car and talked for an hour and a half. Then he offered me a job, Wright says. You cant always have that kind of chemistry with a mentor, but that trust is critical.
Notes Carvin: Different mentors can offer you different kinds of help. The key is to always be looking, to always know what you need.
About Anita Bruzzese
When Anita Bruzzese first proposed a syndicated newspaper column on workplace issues 15 years ago, some editors thought she was nuts. Thats what we have finance columns for, they said.
But when Gannett News Service launched the column in 1992, reader response was immediate. I thought I was the only one to go through this was a common refrain in the hundreds of letters that flooded in from Oregon to Florida and all points in between.
Now, hundreds of columns later, with a notable presence in the workplace advice arena, Bruzzese is still ahead of the curve and still prompting reader feedback from all over the world.
With more than a decade of writing about the workplace for Gannett News Service and USAToday.com, this award-winning journalist has a unique ability to spot trends and present them to readers, often ahead of other competing columnists. She consistently delivers critical workplace information to a consumer audience who might not otherwise be aware of the issues she addresses.
Her first book, Take This Job and Thrive was critically acclaimed as rendered with rousing spirit and sound, commonsense ideas, couched in encouragement. (Booklist). She has been quoted in numerous publications, such as WashingtonPost.com, and a book on Fortune 500 hiring practices. She has been on radio shows nationwide as a workplace expert, and appears on USAToday.com, CareerBuilder.com, AOLs Find a Job and the Boston Heralds Jobfind.
Bruzzese was the founding managing editor of the national magazine Employee Benefit News and was chosen as a CASE media fellow at Smith College and a Knight Center Fellow at the University of Maryland for her work in workplace journalism.
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| 4/1/2009 |
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Layoffs. Downsizing. Rightsizing.
Layoffs. Downsizing. Rightsizing. Whatever term you use, these are uncertain times for any employee. The headlines are heavy with doom and gloom statistics and warnings about an uncertain future. So what are ambitious and talented employees to do?
The answer coming from many employees has been "Keep your head down," "Don't attract attention," "Just do good work and the results will speak for themselves." While it seems natural to just hunker down and wait out the storm, our experience has shown that proactive career management and development is more important in times of economic uncertainty than ever.
Now is the time for employees to be purposeful about managing their personal "brand." Results matter (thank goodness), but perception matters as well, particularly when decisions need to be made about who belongs in the leadership pipeline and who will help pull an organization through tough times.
In Tom Peters' article "The Brand Called You," he states that an employee's most important job is to be "head marketer for the brand called you." Rather than hiding or waiting things out, Peters' article would suggest that now is the time to become more highly visible, even "famous" within an organization for being a source of unique value.
Whether you are providing coaching to your own employees or are considering how to manage your own career, there are some simple suggestions that we have found to be valuable in building a better personal brand:
Volunteer for organization-wide projects or steering committees
Join a local professional organization; take on an officer role. Host an event at your company's location
Take a class focused on cutting edge technologies or solutions that you can bring back to the organization
Teach a class within the organization or at a local business school
Build your professional network through technology such as Linked In
Seek feedback informally or through 360 degree feedback and take action based on what you hear
Take risks by stepping outside of your comfort zone (e.g., lead a change initiative, speak publically, suggest an innovative solution and ask to lead the charge)
Regardless of what you choose to take on in your efforts to build your personal brand, always make sure that you are a source of positive and constructive energy. Make yourself known as someone who focuses on the possibilities and who is committed to furthering the goals of the organization rather than your own personal goals. It is this type of person that not only survives but thrives in tough times.
Ryan D. Bortel, Ph.D.has a background in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and is a Consultant atCorporate Psychologists. He has worked in the areas of employee assessment, development and organizational change for 10 years. He managed the leadership development activities for a Fortune 100 organization, and has served as a consultant to small, mid-sized and Fortune Global 500 organizations. His areas of expertise include employee assessment, coaching, leadership development, change management, succession planning, organizational survey research, and employee recognition programs. Dr. Bortel completed his Ph.D. at DePaul University in Chicago, IL.
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| 2/1/2009 |
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Are Graduates Ready to Work?
02/01/2008
Are Graduates Ready To Work?
By John Bendt
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What does the future hold for today's youth? Are they learning the skills they need to succeed? Are They Really Ready to Work?, a report released by The Conference Board (a business membership and research organization), shows there is an alarming trend in the United States for many of today's entry level workers, even those with a four-year degree, to lack critical workplace skills needed to succeed on the job.
The Conference Board, along with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management, conducted a survey in 2007 of more than 400 employers across the United States to identify skill sets that new workplace entrants will need to succeed. A key finding of the survey is that the "Three Rs" alone are not sufficient to succeed on the job, and applied or soft skills are essential for success. Among the most important soft skills needed by entrants into today's workforce are:
Professionalism / Work Ethic
Communications (Written & Oral)
Teamwork / Collaboration
Critical Thinking / Problem Solving
Employers' assessment of new workforce entrants' readiness on these important skills is alarming. A report card shows serious skill deficiencies for high school and two-year college/technical school graduates, and low levels of skill excellence for four-year college graduates. For example, the majority of employers rated high school graduate entrants deficient in all of the most important soft skills. A significant percent rated two-year college or technical school graduates deficient in communication and problem solving skills. And although four-year college graduates were rated mostly adequate, with the exception of written communication skills, only 25 percent of the employers rated them excellent on three of the five most important soft skills. The full report is available online at http://www.conference-board.org/.
Part of this problem can be attributed to the fact that most high school students put little effort into exploring what they want to do upon graduation, have little understanding or experience with the requirements of the work world, and have no action plan in place to prepare for their future, other than some plan to go to college. It's paradoxical that college bound students and their parents put lots of energy into selecting and gaining admission into college, but minimal thought and effort into selecting an occupation and learning the skills it will take to compete successfully in today's competitive global world. As a result many enter college with little direction, often require extra time to graduate, and most importantly, fail to hone critical workplace skills.
Pointing Students in the Right Direction
What can teachers, counselors and parents do to help students better prepare for their future in the workforce? Following are three actions that can make a difference:
Make the case to students that preparing for their future work life should be a high priority, because success in their work life depends on the ability to provide skills an employer will value. Students experience competition in sports, class work, and other extra curricular activities. Most, however, don't fully grasp the role competition will play in their work life, and that their ability to compete is the single most important factor in determining the success they will experience. Help students understand that the way to successfully compete in the workplace is to create skill advantages and to start preparing while in high school.
Bring the work world to students through exploration of occupations. Encourage students to use career center tools to identify and explore occupational interests and learn which hard and soft skills are needed to achieve success in the occupations. Most importantly teach them how to find and interview someone working in the occupation so they gain a realistic understanding of the work and requirements for success. Arming students with an agenda, such as Information Interviews, can alleviate anxiety caused by the uncertainty of what questions to ask. Student interactions with the professionals they interview can often lead to valuable mentor relationships.
Show students how they can learn and practice important workplace skills in their extra curricular activities and part time jobs. Opportunities to practice skillslike leadership, teamwork and communication abound if one participates in sports, school clubs and volunteer activities. Verbal skills can be sharpened by joining the debate or forensics teams, or writing skills can be improved by working on the school newspaper, or yearbook. Part-time jobs provide the opportunity to practice professionalism by demonstrating responsibility, dependability, initiative, ability to work under pressure and self confidence. Interpersonal skills can also be practiced in dealing with co-workers. Encourage students to keep a journal of how they practiced important workplace soft skills in their extra curricular activities and part time jobs. This documentation of skill use will assist the student in mastering the skill, and will be a very valuable record when the time comes to demonstrate one's skills when competing for a job.
The Road To Success
Despite the alarming news from the Conference Board report, there is hope. Counselors, educators and parents can make a major difference by encouraging students to be proactive in preparing for their future. With effective guidance students will gain a better understanding of the big picture and will enter the workforce armed with the soft skills necessary to compete.
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| 1/1/2009 |
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First Jobs Kindle Careers
Do you remember your first job? Working in a restaurant? Helping out with a family business? Even if the memory is vague or one you'd prefer not to relive, do not look disdainfully upon that early experience. Despite a potentially menial nature and likely low pay, there is great value to be derived from this formative experience. Successful professionals from all walks of life learn valuable lessons, acquire lifelong skills, and benefit from ethical lessons gleaned during these initial jobs. You and your clients likely learned more than you think at that first job!
Transferable Skills: From the Cafeteria to Computers
In the work world, the most important skills are often transferable. Therefore working at a McDonalds doesn't consign you to a career in the food industry. Young Leslie Haynes' first paying job? As a cashier in a cafeteria-style restaurant. Each morning patrons ordered and paid Leslie before arriving and receiving their food. Daily, upon opening, one customer from a local corporate office arrived with a detailed order including a dozen beverages for her co-workers: "ice teac/no lemon;" "ice tea with lots of ice;" "coke with a little 7-Up;" "Coke with no ice;" etc. Other employees hid when they saw this customer coming because they would ususally get the order wrong! To serve this customer better, Leslie began personally taking the woman's order. And she always got it right..
One day, the woman handed Leslie a business card and explained that her manager wanted Leslie to interview with their company. He reasoned, "anyone who an be that efficient should work for us." And that's how Leslie got her first corporate job, using computers, handling paralegal work for Mead Data Central, Lexus/Nexus in Dayton, Ohio. She's since been a computer operator for a major database company, before becoming a registered certified dietitian. Today's Leslie is working with one of the nation's lead research hospitals in Bethesda, Maryland. Her cafeteria ability to organizae, prioritize and handle complicated tasks, from both customers and patients, has helped her win many jobs and promotions throughout her career.
Nuts and Bolts Training
For Charles Schwab, growing up in Yolo County, California afforded him the opportunity to become entrepreneurial at an early age. His first paying job? Picking up walnuts, sacking and then selling them for $5 per 100-pound bag. Schwab learned early that "the only way you could make a go of any enterprise was first, to find a profitable business concept; then begin to take practical steps to put the concept into action; and finally putting in the extra hours to turn a profit." Some friends who picked with him thought he was nuts when times got hard and sales slowed. yet Charles kept picking. Some bolted; Schwab persevered. "I quickly learned that if I kept at it and plowed right through the rejections I'd eventually get somebody to buy my wares."
Today San Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. brokerage services employ 12,400 and manage approximately $1.3 trillion. Whether picking nuts or stocks, hard work and perseverance pays off!
Little Things Make the Difference: The Difference is No Little Thing
For George Zimmer, President of The Men's Wearhouse, little things make the difference. Mr. Zimmer's first paying job: working for a newspaper, collecting fees from the delivery boys and helping them collect from their customers. He handled an area that had approximately 25 delivery boys. According to Zimmer, "the most important lesson I learned was that the devil is in the details."
Years later The Men's Wearhouse is known for their attention to detail. At over 1,269 stores throughout North America, customers' sizes and measurements are kept on file in a national database. They also regularly call back customers within 14 days of a purchase to insure their satisfaction. Furthermore, they remain ever ready to sew loose buttons and press slacks, blazers and suits whenever customers have a need, even when they are traveling away from home. As you can see, attention to detail is a quality that transcends occupations; something that Zimmer developed through that first job as a paperboy.
All of these intriguing stories validate the concept that career foundations are truly laid one skill "brick" at a time, beginning with our client's earliest and perhaps most seemingly menial jobs. These examples also help to illuminate the value of looking at the bigger picture when helping our clients to trace their career histories; we must teach them the language of transferable skills and focus on the positive learning outcomes and skill development that has occurred, especially if they cannot see these important aspects on their own. The following tips provide guidance for how to facilitate this process in career counseling:
RULES OF TRANSFERENCE
1. Always introduce the concept of Transferable Skills to your clients define this term and give relevant examples (perhaps taken from this article!). Help them realize that they are constantly utilizing and developing the basic skill sets they very likely gained from their earliest jobs!
2. Have your client describe the tasks and responsibilities of their first jobs to you as you jot down the skills and abilities that you recognize. Then ask them to identify what they think are the important skills and learning experiences from that job and share some of your own observations. Encourage clients to put aside negative judgments about these early jobs (if present), focusing on skills, not interests or the lack thereof.
3. The beauty of transferable skills is their ability to cross fields and professions. They may be traveling undercover, so we must elicit detailed stories and play "detective". One field's "people skills" may be another's "bedside manner". Think creatively and help our clients package themselves in the most effective way based on the needs and jargon of their targeted industry. This step is critical in all aspects of the job search process, especially resume/cover letter writing and professional interviewing.
A First For KnowledgeTransfer Ahead
One never knows where a job will lead. First jobs are a right of passage, teaching us valuable, memorable lessons to apply to future jobs throughout our careers. Sometimes the true lessons aren't readily apparent nor appreciated until years later, when we look back and can we see clearly what we learned and how we've applied it. No experience is wasted! What's your strategy? Apply these concepts to yourself and your work with clients: To learn as much as you can in each job you take; focusing on professional development, the use of new tools and technology, and on showing commitment to your co-workers, company and customers. The more you know the more you grow. As you rise (and help your clients rise) on the ladder of success, periodically look back at that first job and appreciate the lasting impressions it has made on you.
Craig Harrison's first paid job, at the age of eleven, was going door-to-door selling used jokes to his neighbors in Berkeley. Today he is a speaker, trainer, consultant and coach who founded Expressions of Excellence! to help professionals express their sales, service and communication excellence.
Contact him at (510) 547-0664, browse ExpressionsOfExcellence.com or send e-mail to mailto:excellence@craigspeaks.com for more information.
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