How I Walk the Talk of The Advice I Give!

Think like the boss –

I am always telling my clients to think like they are the boss they want to work for. The more one thinks like the boss, the more one will tell the boss what the boss needs to know, the more one will act like the perfect candidate. Even though I am self-employed, I have multiple bosses.

For example, my spouse is my bosses. He needs to be happy with the income I bring to the family. Each of my clients is a boss. If they are not happy with my training and processes bringing them positive results, they will not be clients for long and will share their poor experiences with others. My business will not do well. So, I am constantly thinking like you, my clients, to ensure I provide you with the services and practical guidance needed.

Network, Network, Network –

If you have attended any of my presentations or trainings, you know I am all about the networking – building relationships and talking to people, especially hiring managers. To increase my network and build stronger relationships, I attend multiple job seeker networking groups each week. And once there, I actively connect with people on LinkedIn. I talk to as many people as I can and exchange contact information. Whenever possible I try to arrange another meeting with at least one or two individuals before I leave the meeting.

For example, at the last meeting of one group, “Executives In Job Transition” (go to www.meetup.com to find it), there was a new member. I linked with her at that meeting and then arranged to speak with her within the week afterwards. She has since become a client of mine. In another case, I noticed a connection of mine on LinkedIn that had a similar work interest as one of my clients. I connected them to each other. In fact, last week I connected 4 different job seekers with connections of mine. In doing so, some of them have also reached out to me with other connections.

Here are 8 more tips of mine I put into regular practice:

1. Get professional certifications to show subject matter expertise.

I recently obtained my Global Career Development Facilitator certification.

2. Keep the conversation going to keep the opportunity alive.

I always set my next appointment (conversation) with clients at the end of the current meeting.

3. Alumni Associations seem to be great places to network.

In September I attended a meeting at my Alma Mater and connected with not just the Alumni Office which has now hired me to do some job search groups, but I connected with 5 college buddies who have since referred clients to me.

4. The first day of your next job search is the first day of your new job.

In the past 4 months, I have submitted proposals to 3 organizations interested in job search training and applied to 2 companies seeking to hire a career coach.

5. You never know when you are going to meet your next boss. Always dress to impress!

My friends sometimes think I am a little weird, but I never leave the house unless I am dressed in business casual or better attire.

6. All job seekers need a professional career coach to help them navigate the job search process.

Even as a career coach, I know I needed help from a coach (or coaches) for my growing small business! I have been meeting with www.SCORE.org business coaches for the past 4 years. With their guidance, I have steadily grown my business and developed improved marketing and business processes. This coach needs my own coach! Clearly, I am not the expert at building a business. My coach is.

7. Job seekers need to have daily, weekly, and overall goals to ensure progressing their job search.

I set daily and weekly goals for prospects to contact and corporations to solicit, all to grow my business. By having goals for income, contacts, and meetings per week I am pushed to grow the business.

8. Be intentional about your social media presence and brand.

I schedule about 2 hours each week to spend on social media - specifically LinkedIn. I spend 1 hour posting original content and 1 hour reviewing my notifications during which I respond back to people who have commented on a topic, article, or post of mine or of interest to me. It shows I am an industry expert in my field, maintains or improves relationships with people in my network, and helps me to show up in other people’s feeds.

What about you?

Do you walk the walk? Or do you just talk the talk? I would love to hear your experiences in this space as well. Do you do some of the things I recommend? What would you add to this list?