Unleashing and Channeling Your Power To Succeed

Archive for the ‘Quick Tips’ Category

January 2011

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the January issue of According to Marshall…

There is a lot of information out there and most of us have little, or no time, to read it. My goal is to provide you, my readers, with relevant, important and up to date information that will help you in your business success. It’s just a quick summary, on various topics of interest, that I am sure will be relevant to your personal and professional success.

If there are particular subjects that you would like to receive information on, let me know. And if you want to share relevant information I would be happy to include it to my readers. Please feel free to send your information to me.

If you have trouble reading this or seeing graphics click here for the online version.

Positive thinking helps net positive results -

by Anita Bruzzese, Gannett at USA Today

“It’s pretty tough to stay positive if you’ve been out of work for a while — or have a job but your boss makes your life miserable.”

Click here to read the full story

5 ways to achieve your New Year’s resolutions -

by Gretchen Rubin, at the Happiness Project

“Many people make New Year’s resolutions, but fewer follow through. To set achievable resolutions, consider what would make you more content, what tangible goals can help you reach that state, whether you respond better to positive or negative resolutions, if you are biting off more than you can chew, and how you will hold yourself accountable.”

Click here to read the full story

Interview Pet Peeves -

by Connie Hauer at JobDig

“Have you ever wondered what hiring managers really dislike during an interview? In an attempt to answer this question, an informal survey was conducted on LinkedIn, and the following question was asked to see what hiring managers and human resource professionals dislike most during an interview:”

Click here to read the full story

Digital Overload: Too Much Technology Takes a Toll -

by Ned Smith, BusinessNewsDaily Senior Writer

“It’s the great irony of the digital age. It seems that the more we do, the less that we get done. Many experts believe it’s our own digital dust that’s dragging us down.”

Click here to read the full story

Too Old To Hire, Too Young To Retire? The New Sandwich Generation -

by Kathy OReilly at MonsterThinking

“To take a pulse of what’s top of mind with job seekers, the White House recently approached us to tap into the large community of job seekers who engage with Monster on Facebook, Ask the White House gave job seekers the opportunity to present questions on what is currently being done, or what could be done, to help stimulate job growth.”

Click here to read the full story

Marshall’s Blog at the Washington Post

For those of you that have not had a chance to visit my Washington Post blog yet here is the link:

http://views.washingtonpost.com/on-success/career-coach/

I also invite you to forward this to a friend.

December 2010

Welcome to the first issue of According to Marshall…

There is a lot of information out there and most of us have little, or no time, to read it. My goal is to provide you, my readers, with relevant, important and up to date information that will help you in your business success. It’s just a quick summary, on various topics of interest, that I am sure will be relevant to your personal and professional success. This will be published the first Tuesday of each month.

If there are particular subjects that you would like to receive information on, let me know. And if you want to share relevant information I would be happy to include it to my readers. Please feel free to send your information to me.

Enjoy…

10 Ways To Manage E-mail -
by Laura Raines For the AJC

As publisher of Atlanta Parent Magazine, Liz Smith is inundated with e-mail and real mail every day.

“So much of it is irrelevant to what we do, but you have to open it to find out,” she said. “Just dealing with the mail here could be a full-time job. At one time I had 12,000 e-mails in my inbox. Fortunately, my staff saw I needed help.”

Click here to read the full story

Why Are Hiring Managers Scared of Entrepreneurs? -
posted by David Mesicek

Entrepreneurs are frequently perceived as being unafraid of risk, individuals who aren’t able to operate in a “structured” environment and who only care for themselves.

Click here to read the full story

How To Land A Rewarding Job -
by Terrence Belford, Postmedia News

Sharon Graham has an idea for the perfect gift for a high school, college or university graduate. Forget watches, trips to Europe or anything transitory. Instead invest anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars on a professional career counsellor.

That $50 might buy a professionally produced resume; several thousand dollars can buy career coaching, interview coaching and a step-by-step plan on how to land a rewarding job.

Click here to read the full story

How Holiday Cards Can Help You Network -
posted by Vickie Elmer

If you want to stand out like a blazing star atop a beautiful Christmas tree this season, send a holiday card.

Send the cards to everyone in your professional network, including people who you’ve met through job interviews and at professional organization meetings.

Click here to visit the Glass Door holiday card network

Marshall’s Blog at the Washington Post

For those of you that have not had a chance to visit my Washington Post blog yet here is the link:

http://views.washingtonpost.com/on-success/career-coach/

As I mentioned earlier, I am meeting an amazing group of individuals while working here in South Africa. They are committed to their profession and to their homeland. One of these is a woman named Vera. Let me share a little about her. 

She is a mother (of 3 children, ages 8, 6 and 2), a good wife and loving daughter. She is also has a Masters degree in international law,  a full time democratic and governance advisor, on the local school board and a self-claimed “shopaholic”. Everyday she and her husband come home for lunch to be with their children, and in-between, she exercises. She has a wonderful smile and an engaging smile. By the way, she lives in Zimbabwe, which doesn’t exactly promote her kind of lifestyle. 

I asked her what keeps her going. How does she live in a country where she feels like she is constantly being watched and listened to? And how does she lead such a well balanced life?

Her response was simple. “This is who I am Marshall; I maintain my priorities, values and identity by being ME. If I run away from my country, what message does that send to my children?”

So what is 1 of the many things I have learned from my new friend Vera? Stay true to your passions, follow your heart, know what is really important and you can achieve whatever you want.

If you haven’t met a Vera in your life yet, I hope you have the privilege to do so someday.

Question:
I have been thinking about getting a mentor to give me guidance on various professional issues. What should I be looking for?

Answer:
Good for you. I applaud you for taking charge of your career and being proactive. A mentoring relationship can be rewarding and provide a lot of benefits to the protégé, and the mentor, for that matter. It can also be a lot of hard work.

To ensure that you get out of the mentoring relationship what you want, I suggest that you first determine what you want out of the relationship and set specific goals and expectations. Make sure you discuss your expectations with your potential mentor to see if it is a good fit or not.

Talk with several individuals before making a decision. It’s okay to shop around and interview folks. This is about YOU. You want to be sure you are working with someone whom you can trust and with whom you are comfortable. Your mentor doesn’t need to necessarily be someone older and wiser–a mentor can also be someone who is your peer or a few steps ahead of you in your career.

Another suggestion for developing a successful mentoring relationship is to be sure that your clearly state your expectations. You want to be sure they are clear about what they can offer you in addition to establishing time and other parameters.

Trust and respect for each other are also critical elements in establishing a successful mentoring relationship. Therefore, it is important for you and your mentor to share your values and beliefs early. It is important for both of you to reveal just enough about yourselves to increase intimacy, without being too forward. Discuss this with your mentor and be sure that you are both in agreement.

Let your mentor know how you would like to communicate, both giving and receiving information. Find out how they like to give information and feedback. Then, determine if that is the best way for you. Also, determine the frequency of your conversations.

In the hectic world that we live in today, finding time for this type of relationship can be difficult. Be sure that both of you are willing to make the time commitment on a regular basis. Make regular appointments to meet; be prompt and committed. I personally think the more frequently you can meet, especially early on, the better and stronger your relationship will become.

And finally, commit to each other that you will discuss the relationship periodically. Revisit it on a regular basis to be sure that both of your needs are still being met. If they are, then continue to move ahead. If not, discuss other options and perhaps other mentor possibilities. It is guaranteed that the mentor doesn’t want to work with a protégé if the protégé doesn’t want to work with them.

Good luck and let me know when YOU become a mentor for someone.

Published by Marshall Brown, “The Career Coach Is In” for the Washington Post.
http://views.washingtonpost.com/on-success/career-coach/

“Career Success Toolkit” Teleseries:
The Ultimate Unfair Competitive Advantage to Open Doors & Get the Job You WANT!
Coming September 22, 2010 to a telephone near you:
http://www.mbrownassociates.com/toolkit/index.html

Today, I want to share a few thoughts on “showing gratitudes” and how this might impact you, regardless if you are in job/career change or not.

Many of us focus on what we want to have and not on saying “thanks” for what we have already. And for many people, especially those who have been laid off, it’s difficult to focus on their accomplishments, the successes they have had and what they can be thankful for.

Each summer, I spend a few weeks off to reflect on how I want my business to grow over the next year, some possibilities for my life and to envision what I would like to experience over the coming months. This year, however, I decided to focus more on what and whom I have experienced over the past year.

Here are a few things I am grateful for:

1. I have the ability to breathe, walk, hear, see and touch on my own.
2. I have been blessed with a loving family and supportive friends.
3. I have clients that I enjoy working with.
4. I love partnering with my clients for their successes.
5. I have a career and business that I am passionate about.

I would encourage you to think about what you are grateful for. It might change your perspective on what you already have. By no means am I saying NOT to focus on the possibilities. I am all about possibilities. I am suggesting that we focus on things for which we are grateful and all the possibilities that we have in life. Just as I have suggested putting your vision and purpose out into the universe, don’t forget about putting out also what the universe has already given you.
Please share some of the things you are grateful for with me.

Marshall

Original post from “The Career Coach Is In” from The Washington Post.
http://views.washingtonpost.com/on-success/career-coach/

Read other articles here:
http://www.mbrownassociates.com/articles.html

From the rising of the moon on Halloween eve until the setting of the sun on Super Bowl Sunday, the holidays create more opportunities for anxiety to get a foothold than a tile roof makes for Santa’s reindeer. Here are ten ideas to help you keep your own steady footing during the upcoming season.

1. Take good care of your self. Eat healthfully, get plenty of rest, exercise.

2. Make lists and set aside specific times to accomplish certain tasks. Prioritize. Consider scratching a few items off your list.

3. Ask for help. It’s more fun to do things together — from decorating the house to wrapping presents.

4. Make a budget and stick to it. No matter what. If you use your credit cards during the holidays then spend the rest of the year paying them off, try not charging anything this year.

5. Shop by catalogue. Give gift certificates.

6. Look for ways to share day care arrangements if the kids are out of school. Maybe this is the year the older ones get a job, or perform volunteer work.

7. Remember to play. Have fun. Share special time with the children or other family members.

8. Make houseguests as self-sufficient as possible. Let them help. Don’t give up your own bed unless you must.

9. If family gatherings cause tension and anxiety, consider alternatives that can lessen the effects. Plan well in advance; avoid last minute surprises.

10. Take a walk; breathe in the fresh air. Find a place where you can be quiet and restful. Go there often.

With Thanksgiving around the corner and the beginning of the holiday season, there is so much to be thankful for. Yes, we’re thankful for our health, our safety, our loved ones. But what else? What do we take for granted? What moves us? What would fill our hearts daily if we would just notice it? 

Especially during tough times, we tend to forget about some of the “little things” in life. Here are a few things to be grateful for, from my perspective (and thoughts from clients).

1. The senses. Sight, sound, touch, smell and taste—daily miracles each of them. 

2. The plant world. From the productivity of a late-summer tomato plant to the delicate unfurling of a fern, nature’s exuberance and tenderness is something to behold.

3. Opportunity. Our steady companion, opportunity is always ready to take us down a path yet unknown. (Hint: We have to say “Yes!”) 

4. Beauty. What do your eyes feast on? What splendor makes your soul rejoice? It is all around us every day. How often do you stop to drink it in? 

5. The ability to learn. There is no age limit on learning—period. When we stop learning, we really stop living. 

6. Young children. They model for us innocence, faith, resilience, playfulness and unconditional love.

7. Music. What inspires you, lifts your mood? Rock & roll, African drumming, violin concertos, gospel?

8. The ability to give. Every act of love benefits the giver as much as the receiver. 

9. Color.  Sunsets, Gauguin paintings, green peppers, blue eyes. Imagine a world without color…. 

10. Change. It’s unavoidable; the only constant. Change can be unsettling or challenging. But the mystery of it and what lies beyond it can keep us young at heart.

* Don’t Panic – be proactive

* Set Goals – learn and grow during this time

* Network – now, more than ever, is the time to network online

* Get Organized – work at creating a job search strategy

* Be The Best You Can Be!

Great change comes from economic turbulence. This is the time to embrace change and succeed!