Category Archives: Goal-Setter

Apr 24 Comments comments
Careerist, Goal-Setter, Learner

Cut through the bad advice with these tips

Hi! Welcome to Twenty Set. Here you will find 4-5 insightful new articles each week about personal and professional development. I write candidly from personal experience.

If you like what you read, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

I am good at giving advice. This is not to say I’m good at giving good advice. Honestly, I’m just good at giving advice I like.

Jamie Varon recently wrote a post about reading bad advice in the blogosphere that inspired me to elaborate on my thoughts about advice-giving.

The hard thing about getting advice is, as humans, we have a tendency to ignore and discredit advice we don’t like, while heavily weighing advice we do like. The dangers of this approach are that we still don’t know what to do and end up just doing what we want, which may not always be the best decision.

Here’s a checklist I go through whenever I need to disseminate what is good advice and what is BS.

Has the adviser done this before?

Experience is king. The best advice givers write and speak about things they know. Trust the person who has experienced something similar to your problem or has achieved a goal you are aiming for.

How well does the adviser know me?

Blanket advice is rarely useful to understand situational problems. The best advice is tailored to your specific situation and who you are as a person. Weigh advice given by someone who asks you questions more heavily.

What are the adviser’s motivations?

Beware of the tendency of humans to give advice that benefits them. Everyone does it. If you are working with a career coach, remember they are trying to sell you something in the end. If you are working with your boss, remember he wants to advance his own career too.

How much can I trust this adviser?

Even if someone has experience and seemingly good intentions, if he has a questionable character, I still might not take his advice. Look at the way this person has handled situations in the past. Are this person’s techniques consistent with your own values?

What else is important to cutting through bad advice? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

Popularity: 8% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Apr 07 Comments comments
Activist, Blogger, Careerist, Entrepreneur, Goal-Setter, Socialite

6 Personal Branding Lessons I Learned from Observing Dan Schawbel

Dan Schawbel is kind of a big deal these days – he has a book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success that just came out (today! go get it), tons of press publicity, his award-winning blog, and his reputation as the #1 personal branding expert. But while Dan’s articles can teach us a lot about how to use social media to brand yourself, I actually learn more about personal branding just from watching Dan work his magic.

Here are some of things I’ve learned:

Dan gives a lot of himself

As one of the Personal Branding Blog writers, I get the opportunity to talk to Dan on a fairly regular basis about everything he’s doing in his career. What I’ve found is he has a huge heart and gives so much of himself to everyone he possibly can. He speaks at local colleges and organizations, he writes articles all the time, he shares interesting information through his twitter account, he does press interviews, he answers questions via email, he writes LinkedIn recommendations for everyone he knows… the list goes on and on.

I recently wrote a post about How to be Popular on Social Media, and Dan is the epitome of one of the points – to make the conversation about your followers, not yourself. It’s no surprise that Dan has a great following, because he truly gives more than he ever asks.

Dan keeps track of his online brand

Dan uses every outlet he has to promote good content of others, but he never misses a chance for self-promotion. I think this is a great thing, because nobody is going to toot your horn for you. Promoting your own accomplishments gives you credibility among your followers and sets an example for what people like you can accomplish.

In Dan’s case, he always shares every article that is written about him, no matter how large or small the publication. The situation is win-win – Dan gets publicity and the publication gets traffic, an incentive that encourages other publications to interview Dan.

Dan writes a ton of articles for various publications

Dan is known as the personal branding expert, but he knows that personal branding is not a vacuum. That’s why Dan applies his subject (personal branding) to broader subjects so he can write on a variety of topics.

Dan also knows that in order to grow a reputation, you cannot invest too much time into one community. He knows that every networking connection is a series of transactions rather than an intense, ongoing conversation. Instead of becoming just another member in several communities, Dan builds his own community around his work. He accomplishes this by gaining more reach - tapping into other communities through his writing, and bringing a portion of those communities back to his own blog.

Dan takes his network with him

The great thing about Dan is he uses his own status to elevate others in his network with him. He is constantly sharing press and speaking opportunities with the people who support him and his career.

For example, the week before Dan launched his book Me 2.0, he emailed the entire Personal Branding Blog team to thank us for making his book launch so successful. In other words, he let us know we were contributors to the Me 2.0 launch and could share in its success. I know that as Dan’s career skyrockets, he will bring his network with him.

Dan wrote a book to move his personal brand forward

I recently wrote that blogging to demonstrate “expert” credentials was sooo 2007. That’s not really fair, because Dan became a personal branding expert largely due to branding himself through his blog.

Not that Dan’s blog is his biggest accomplishment – not nearly. He simply used it as a stepping stone to make an even bigger career jump – writing his book.

While Dan did not get article in Business Week and the New York Times through his blog, he did get them because he had a book deal. So if you really want to become an expert, write a blog about a particular subject, and use your blog to sell a book.

But first you have to find a great hook that sells. And “personal branding expert” is already taken, unfortunately.

Dan is a Google Reader rockstar

I recently dusted off my Google Reader, and as I started using it, I was shocked to discover that Dan Schawbel shares, like, 50 articles a day. How the heck does he read that much, I thought?

But then I observed Dan’s shared items, and found a lot of truly great content. And I realized quickly it’s all in the title – you can skim article titles in Google reader and tell what’s going to be interesting and relevant to you and what’s not.

Now, I have over 200 feeds in my Google Reader. I give basically anyone who communicates with me in any way a chance, whether through commenting or sending me a message on Twitter. I add feeds to my reader without fear, because I can scan 500 posts, pick out and read the best 10 (based on titles), and share the most relevant 5 on Twitter and my blog in about 10 minutes.

I know this has to be how Dan Schawbel finds great content to share with his following, and has built a loyal fan base that makes him the personal branding expert he is today. And I love reading Dan Schawbel’s shared items because they are usually intelligent, insightful picks. And I think if I can share good picks with people, I can brand myself as someone in the know too.

*******************

PS. I highly recommend Dan Schawbel’s book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, which I have already read and found very impressive.

Popularity: 21% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jan 13 Comments comments
Careerist, Entrepreneurship, Goal-Setter

Ten Second-Jobs for Generation Y

This is a continuation of my article from yesterday about why Generation Y’ers need second-jobs. As promised, here are ten options that make great second-jobs:

  1. Expert Columnist – Blogging to demonstrate “expert” credentials is sooo 2007, but blogging IS a good way to test your writing skills and improve your understanding of a topic, which can lead to an article or column in a media publication. Start small, build a community around your blog, and use that momentum to land a stretch job writing about a topic that relates to your career.
  2. Foreign Language Tutor – The best way to put all those college foreign language credits to use is to practice the basics on a regular basis, and having a foreign language on your resume makes you a hot commodity in just about any market.
  3. Small-Business Owner – These days, anyone can start a business for under $1000 on the internet. If you have an innovative idea, the internet is a good place to test the profitability of it. Minimize your risk and get a learning experience no matter what.
  4. Student – Getting extra certifications can go a long way in your career if your job isn’t helping you develop the skills you need for a new position, and they are usually easier and faster than getting a graduate degree. While a CFA or PMI certification might not get you a promotion or raise within your current company, job-hoppers benefit because they know certifications help them narrow the gaps, especially for career changers or ladder-climbers who want to skip a few rungs.
  5. Fitness Trainer/Instructor – If you are a health enthusiast, it’s not too difficult to take your exercise hobby to a new level. You can get certified as a Yoga or Pilates instructor for the same cost of a professional certification, and (bonus) get paid to work out regularly.
  6. Contract Worker – The recession is going to cause a surge of contract jobs in every industry, and taking a contract job is a great way to expand into new projects you wouldn’t get in your current position. Companies also use contract positions to test potential employees before offering a permanent position, so it’s a great option for layoff casualties.
  7. Consulting – Like contract work, part-time consulting, especially in using tools for productivity, networking, and social media marketing, will become a must as businesses try to cut costs. Generation Y is poised to use their techno-savvy skills to teach small business owners grassroots marketing and time-saving tricks.
  8. Librarian Assistant – I like this option because even if you spent all your time organizing books or manning a desk and never did any research, you are still likely to increase your recreational reading. Bring books home with you and learn something that can help you in your career.
  9. Teaching/Research Assistant – professors in secondary education are always looking for people to help them grade assignments and deal with general administrative duties. Plus, professors are smart and curious and live to push people to think harder. Use a teaching assistant position to gain a valuable reference or add a cool research project to your resume.
  10. Online Marketing/PR – With the propagation of social media tools, many members of Generation Y have become stellar marketers and PR reps without even realizing it. There are opportunities in every industry for part-time work promoting products or services online.
  11. BONUS! The Washington Post wrote an article about second-jobs and there are a ton of ideas not on this list, especially if you are looking specifically for paid part-time work.

One last thing I should point out: it’s a lot easier to get many of these part-time jobs if you use blogging and social media to get noticed. So even though blogging won’t make you an expert overnight, it can still help you promote yourself!

Popularity: 20% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Jan 12 Comments comments
Careerist, Goal-Setter

Generation Y’s Second-Job is the Key to Surviving the Recession

Some of the worst career advice I’ve heard about the recession is that Generation Y should lay low and just be thankful we have jobs. Why do older generations think we should be putting our career goals on hold just because the economy sucks? Now is just as good a time as any for Generation Y to focus not just on maintain a job, but on high-flying career advancement. For that, you need a good second-job.

What is a second-job? It’s the part-time job you either take or make in addition to your full-time day job. And even though it’s a lot of extra work, smart young professionals know a second-job is essential for survival in a recession. Here’s why:

Recessions are a time for back-up plans, and growth periods are a time for advancing quickly.

It once baffled me that anyone worried about job security, because, in my mind, job security from a company doesn’t exist no matter how the economy looks. But then I realized people who worry about job security have all their eggs in one basket, whether out of laziness or exhaustion or ignorance, and that’s a mistake no one in Generation Y can afford to make.

There is never a good time to get caught without a second-job. In recessions, you use your second-job for extra income, building your savings, and homemade unemployment insurance. Then, when the economy is doing well again, you use your already-established second-job to throw your career into overdrive by further building the skills you need to take on new positions every year or two.

But first you have to embrace the second-job, and realize it gives you freedom over your career in both good times and bad.

High-performing Generation Y’ers land stretch jobs by job-hopping, but need second-jobs to bridge the gaps.

As Rebecca Thorman points out, managing your career doesn’t stop just because we’re in a recession. In order to keep yourself challenged and increase your salary quickly, you have to take on stretch jobs; and the easiest way to land a stretch job is to job-hop your way to new experiences (even if you’re just job-hopping within your company).

But it’s hard to convince someone to hire you for a stretch job (especially in a recession), because the whole point of a stretch job is you don’t have all the skills desired and plan to do some learning on the company’s nickel. So use your second-job to narrow those learning gaps and convince the hiring manager you can do the job. You can bolster your candidacy odds by taking a second-job with interesting work that can be packaged into transferable skills.

The internet has made the second-job so low-cost, hiring managers expect you to have one (or two).

Yesterday, I told my husband (who is earning a doctorate in optometry) that he should be blogging about proper eye care for Boomers. Boomers will soon be a hugely important demographic for health care professionals, and Boomers are interested in online self-treatment when possible.

He rolled his eyes and replied, “Monica, blogging is your thing. I’m just not into it.”

He gave me a few more excuses for why he doesn’t need a professional blog, but I can’t remember them because I tuned out. The bottom line is there’s no excuse for not having a second-job, because the most competitive young professionals in the workforce will. Thanks to the internet and the proliferation of web and phone applications for every need imaginable, the high entry-barriers to many industries are crashing down. You can usually start your second-job for next to nothing, and people who go three steps further will outshine the rest of the applicant pool.

Now that you know you need a second-job, it’s time to go shopping. Tomorrow I’ll be posting ten jobs that would make great second-jobs for Generation Y professionals. Please visit again tomorrow, or subscribe to this blog for free so you don’t miss a thing.

Popularity: 18% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

May 13 Comments comments
Entrepreneur, Goal-Setter, Urbanite

A Tale of Two Cities: Working and Living 150 Miles Apart

As many of you know, I live/work in Madison, WI now. Sort of. Because I actually live/attend school in Chicago. Sort of. Confused yet?

Here’s the update on my new job:

It’s going great, except when I’m not working.

When I accepted the job at Brazen Careerist, my only stipulation was that I didn’t have to move. I have nothing against Madison; in fact, I enjoy the charm of the downtown area. But I have a life in Chicago that I love, and obligations in Chicago which I can’t leave.

So we decided I could commute to Madison two or three days a week. Which turned into five, I think. And to be honest, the whole commuting thing is not going so well.

Here’s my dilemma:

The difficult part about doing the job you want is you also want to be present for it. So I want to be in Madison, working in my little office, just about every day.

But not actually. Because Chicago is my home, and it’s where my heart is. It’s where my family is. It’s where my wonderful friends are. It’s where the skyscrapers that inspire me and captivate me are. So whenever I’m in Madison, I want to be in Chicago.

Chicago. Madison. Chicago. Madison?

It’s tough having two lives that pull you in different directions, and for awhile I really thought I could reject my time in Madison as “my life.” Instead, I would come here on vacation every week, sort of like a summer home. And I didn’t need a ton of friends in Madison, because I already have a lot of friends in Chicago. And I didn’t need a real place to stay and call my own in Madison, because I already own a condo in Chicago.

Here’s the lesson learned:

I was delusional to think commuting would be easy. Yeah, really. Delusional. And everyone tried to tell me this before I took the job, but I decided not to listen.

So here’s the one thing you need to consider when starting a job in a city you don’t live in: how much you love the job. Because trust me, if you don’t really love your job, you are not going to make it.

But for what it’s worth, I’m happy I didn’t listen to the naysayers. Because if I had thought this job opportunity through a little better I would have gotten too scared to do it. And that would have been stupid.

So here’s to the bright side of my double life: I have great coworkers. I’m doing something I love. I get to spend the summer in the beautiful state of Wisconsin. I get to buy all the clothes on the sales rack at Madison’s Urban Outfitters and wear them in Chicago where they would be double the price. My parents and husband are excited for me, and supportive of my career path. The Capitol is pretty when it’s lit up at night.

And I live in Madison. And I live in Chicago. Sort of.

Popularity: 26% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Apr 22 Comments comments
Careerist, Entrepreneur, Goal-Setter, Grad School Bound, Learner

Graduating Soon? Here are some Recommended Resources

Image Source: ykmm85 via FlickR

As school winds down for the year, there is a lot of talk about recession and the prospective job market for graduating seniors. The economy is not the best, but luckily, there is a lot of great expert advice for students looking for jobs or struggling with the quarterlife crisis. I’ll be posting any opportunities or resources I come across in this thread. I encourage others to leave comments of any resources they find as well - I’ll be adding those comments into this post with a link to the recommender’s blog.

Lindsey Pollak is offering free advice to graduating seniors and free professional consulting to those who were planning on working for Bear Stearns and have now had their offers rescinded. She writes:

For any of the 250 undergraduate student with a rescinded job offer from Bear Stearns, I would be happy to provide you with a free 30-minute career counseling session by phone between now and September 1, 2008. For the first 10 students to respond to this offer, I will mail you a free copy of my book, Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World (HarperCollins, 2007).

Get the rest of the details at Lindsey’s blog.

sampleissue2.jpgGen Y personal branding expert Dan Schwabel will be releasing the fourth issue of Personal Branding Magazine on May 1st. For less than 10 bucks, you get 25 articles about personal branding for HR recruiting.Here are some of the highlights:

  • An interview with Robert McGovern, former CEO of CareerBuilder.com and current CEO of a new job board, JobFox, which focuses more on personal branding.
  • An interview with Pamela Slim, blogger and founder of the acclaimed Escape from Cubicle Nation
  • 10 Thought Leaders Speak About the Future of Recruitment - Founders, CEOs, and celebrity bloggers in the HR world answer the question “If you could change one thing about recruitment, what would it be?”
  • 20 Personal Branding Tips to Make Your Career Recession Proof from personal branding consultant Paul Copcutt
  • Two Sides of the Recruiting Story from recruiter Justin Orkin
  • plenty more, including articles from gen Y bloggers Tiffany Monhollon and Adam Salamon

Still not convinced? Download a free 9 page sample of the issue here. You can purchase the magazine here starting May 1st!

Alexandra Levit’s new book just came out - How’d You Score That Gig?: A Guide to the Coolest Jobs-and How to Get Them I got my hands on a copy of the book and plan to give it a full review; but right now I will say if you are looking for your dream job, this book is a great resource to find very cool jobs that are tailored to your personality type.

JT O’Donnell is relaunching her book Careerealism in conjunction with a new website described below:

Launching in late spring, Careerealism.com plans to become the on-line encyclopedia of career options for college grads and young professionals. The site will offer career insights from those in the trenches, fellow twentysomethings, who will relay first-hand what work is really like. Careerealism.com intends to help the more than 15 million individuals seeking degrees in America answer the big question after college, “Now what?” Subscribe today by e-mail and you’ll be invited to the on-line launch party where they will be giving away thousands of dollars in career coaching products and services.

I’m looking forward to JT’s website launch and I will be contributing my own career story to her website. Her book Careerealism will be available on May 1st, but advance purchasers will receive 20% off her Professional Strengths Assessment Package.

Kristen Fischer’s new book is out as well, smartly titled Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life. She says,

“Life after college doesn’t have to be an all-out crisis—it is more so a time of change that can be very beneficial for young adults if they have an idea on what they’re facing.”

This book helps recent graduates:

  • Determine what career path will bring satisfaction
  • Select a job hunting strategy that gets results
  • Decide if graduate school will benefit their career
  • Prioritize work responsibilities with personal commitments
  • Cultivate better relationships with family and friends
  • Organize a living plan—at home or on their own
  • Manage their finances with the future in mind
  • Overcome stress, anxiety or depression

I haven’t read the book yet, but what I like most about it so far are the topics covered span much more than just getting a job. Looks like it will be a great resource for recent grads who feel a little clueless about the transition to adulthood.

Finally, the women at LifeBeforeNoon are doing a series of guest posts about graduation and advice on life afterwards. I am excited to be contributing to their Week of Wisdom, which will start sometime in May.

If you know of any other resources or opportunities for graduating seniors, please leave a comment!

Popularity: 33% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Mar 31 Comments comments
Goal-Setter, Learner

Real Leaders Perform Well Whether They Practice or Not

Image Source: RenschMensch via FlickR

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll still be among the stars.” ~ Les Brown

Last October my husband and I attempted to run our first marathon in Chicago; the day turned out to be a miserable 91 degrees and after someone died they shut the course down and either rerouted people or forced them to walk to the finish line.

You will find plenty of people who tell you marathons are great; what nobody tells you about marathons is how much work they are.  On average, people train for 18 weeks (4.5 months) and run about 25-40 miles per week by the middle of the program.  This is about 5-8 hours of solid running per week, most of which takes place on weekend mornings.  The commitment affects your social life, your bank account, and your diet - so a marathon commitment should not be taken lightly.

The other thing nobody tells you is how much running a marathon affects your body.  I loved my body when I was training for the marathon - towards the end of training I was skinnier than my high school days.  But running a marathon is dangerous, and you are almost guaranteed to have some sort of injury during training because running 26.2 miles damages the body.  And there’s always the chance you will push yourself too hard and end up in the hospital, or die.

Despite my non-glowing review of marathons, I still recommend training for and running a marathon.  I decided this while running an 8k (5 mile) race in Chicago this weekend.  I haven’t run much over the last six months and I haven’t been to a gym at all in the last two months, so I had no idea what to expect; but I made it through the race at my regular marathon pace, despite not training.

And that is why you should run a marathon.  No, not an actual marathon (unless you enjoy running), but rather a metaphorical marathon.  Because real leaders don’t rest; they perform well every time and don’t use lack of preparation as an excuse.  The only way to do well every time you run a 5 mile race, prepared or not, is to run that marathon once.

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you’ll still be among the stars.”  Truthfully, I have never liked this quote.  Instead, shoot for the moon and hit it, and don’t bother shooting if you aren’t going to hit it.  It doesn’t even matter how well you hit it, because the true value is in pushing yourself to the edge.  And once you’ve hit the moon, living among the stars will be that much easier.

Figure out what your marathon is and get to it.  There’s no doubt it will be the most painful, trying thing you do; but the best, most important accomplishments always are.

Popularity: 24% [?]

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!