10 Top Executive Resume Writing Services Share Expert Advice

10 Top Executive Resume Writing Services Share Expert Advice 10 top executive resume writing services share winning job search strategies 10 Top Executive Resume Writing Services Share Job Search Tips For 2019Following is a cross-post of top 10 resume writing and jobs search tips, reprinted with permission from executive resume writer colleague, Rosa Elizabeth Vargas, owner of CareerSteering.  10 top executive resume writing services share winning job search strategiesLand your next six-figure senior executive positionKick your job search into gear with best executive job search tips for the new year.With so much information online and so many  â€˜Top 10 Resume Writing Services for Executives’  claims, how do you discern which advice you should follow?I’ve selectively invited respected and long-tenured resume writing and career coaching colleagues to weigh in and provide best practices to help you launch a successful 2019 job search campaign.The following professional resume writers and career coaches are subject matter experts and highly regarded within the resume writing and coaching industry for their trending i nsights, trustworthy business practices and record of success helping executives reach next-level results. Here is what they had to say. Listen closely because this advice is coming from top-tier experts. You’re welcome.Oh, and whatever you do, my advice is to launch the job search campaign. Plan it now and hit the ground running in 2019. Hesitation is your worst enemy. Good luck!10 HIGH-IMPACT RESUME WRITING AND JOB SEARCH TIPS FOR 2019Rosa E. Vargas,  Career SteeringBe Intentional in Your Online Persona and BrandAs  analytics,  machine  learning  and artificial intelligence evolve, it will become ever more imperative that your online executive brand is robust and expansivebeyond setting up your social profile on popular social media portals such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.As an executive, your personal brand is critical to your companys digital equity and so not only is being on social media going to keep your brand relevant,  but your online activity across business foru ms and the surfing trail you leave behind (YouTube, purchases, reading subscriptions) also will play a role in helping define your online DNA.This means you  must  be intentional in not only establishing your online persona, but also steering and energizing your brands digital footprint with your own personal website, thought leadership posts, LinkedIn articles and press releases to share your / your companys milestones. You must guide your brands online traction and become the proactive architect of your digital story.Follow Rosa on LinkedInErin Kennedy,  Exclusive Executive ResumesDont Ignore Your LinkedIn ProfileIts easy to let your LinkedIn profile lag when you dont need it. However, when you are in job search mode, it can be the difference between leading the next organization or not. Most hiring managers and recruiters use LinkedIn to find their next star. If your profile isnt current, youre hurting your chances of being discovered.Even if you dread the thought of it, update y our LinkedIn profile with your current story, or at least the last 10-15 years when youve had the most progression in your career. Dont forget to create an interesting career summary as well. Just a little investment of time and effort on LinkedIn goes a long way.Follow Erin on LinkedIn.Dawn Rasmussen,  Pathfinder CareersDon’t Be Afraid to Take Classes and Include Them on Your ResumeBoards and employers are interested in seeing how executives are willing to keep learning. This is, after all, a test to see how you can innovate and carry this company forward.So, actively seek out professional development opportunities that are particularly thought-leadership oriented. Understanding where the industry or economy will potentially take the organization will be critical for the next executive. And you can demonstrate that progressive knowledge acquisition and cutting-edge understanding of opportunities and challenges to not only evolve the organization but also stand out among competito rs.Follow Dawn on LinkedInMarie Zimenoff,  Resume Writing AcademyUse Research-Backed Design ElementsYouve probably heard that recruiters spend about 6 seconds in the initial review of your resume. What you might not know is that you can increase the amount of content they consume in that short time with your formatting choices. Although aesthetics are an important consideration in resume design, there are strategies that research shows increase readability. These include using lines, borders, or shading to move the eye through the document; putting the most important content to the left of the page where readers will skim; and using white space to create chunks of content that make it easy for a reader to locate what they are looking for in your document.Research also shows that the use of one color will increase a readers attraction to your document. Keep your design clean and professional, but dont be afraid to use elements that improve readability and draw the reader to the criti cal information while creating a distinct look. Dont buy into the myths that these formatting features harm your score in an applicant tracking system. Create a visually appealing, highly readable Word document using these elements and it will be fine in ATS, via email, or any other way you want to share it with your network and recruiters.Follow Marie on LinkedInDonna Svei,  Avid CareeristVet Your Writer CarefullyIts important that you respect the writers work. When you look at the writers samples, verify that the  resume  represents a real person. Its much easier to write a good fictitious  resume  than a  resume  for a real person.Follow Donna on LinkedInAnnette Richmond,  Career Intelligence Resume WritingBreak Away from Chronological Resume Format and Tell the Story Behind Your Career ProgressionTake time to think about your career trajectory when writing your executive resume. Were you recruited by a competitor or former client? Were you promoted because you landed a big clien t or developed a process that was adopted company-wide? The story behind your promotion can make a difference.One of the reasons employers prefer reverse-chronological resumes is because they show a candidate’s career progression. But, once you’ve reached the executive level you need to show momentum.Let’s say you’ve been promoted 3 times since being recruited by your current employer. That’s great. But, being promoted based on your achievements is better. For example, after 2 years with ABC Company the manager of another department recruited you to come and work for her. She picked you to run the product merchandising team because she liked your work on an interdepartmental project. That’s more impressive than being promoted due to seniority.Follow Annette on LinkedInLisa Rangel,  Chameleon ResumesEvaluate the Executive Resume Writer’s Recommendations Expertise Beyond Resume DevelopmentVerify the writer’s success in the form of client job changes that are similar t o the caliber of position you seek.  Your resume writer should help you utilize the marketing documents they created for you and position you to land your dream job.Look at the quality  of their LinkedIn recommendations:  Are the recommendations from actual clients? Are these clients who have held similar titles as you? Has the recommender had a successful job change resulting from using the writer?    Landing your dream job depends on so much more than the resumeâ€"ensure you are hiring a successful job search strategist who understands the overall recruiting process, of which the resume is one part of that process.Follow Lisa on LinkedInMary Elizabeth Bradford,  maryelizabethbradford.comBe Bold â€" Go DirectDo you have a favorite list of companies you would like to work with? Why not reach out to them directly?If you are an executive level â€" this technique is especially effective and involves simply reaching out to another CEO or top title to see if the timing is right that they may want to speak with you â€" as you are currently vetting new opportunities.It’s important to understand the spirit in which you are reaching out is entrepreneurial â€" rather than sales or marketing driven. It works in part because at the $300K+ level, only about 10% of positions available show up online. So by reaching out directly you do a few things:You demonstrate your initiative and strategic leadership.  You capitalize on the 90% of potential for unadvertised positions or positions that are being filled quietly.You potentially save the company not only time, but a hefty recruiter search fee.Early interest before job parameters are carved in stone and sitting with a board, HR, recruiters or a combination thereof are often much more flexible and you can affect the evolution of the terms.Look for companies that are moving, growing, expanding or in MA mode. Look for growing industries too â€" vs. those that are flat, in decline or disrupted â€" unless you are a solution prov ider to those kinds of issues and that interests you.Follow Mary Elizabeth on LinkedInSandra Ingemansen,  Resume StrategiesExecutive Summaries Job Descriptions: Long Story ShortThere’s a way to engage readers in your career story in half the time and make sure they remember about 34% more content.Who wouldn’t want to make themselves more memorable to executive hiring decision makers, right? Here are some key takeaways that take human reading behavior into account:Write tighter to shorten lines of text.Compose compelling, well-written headline statements. (The Poynter’s Eyetrack III study noted that readers only read 2 to 3 words of a headline, so make your opening header a good one!)Frontload your main points first, because readers do the same thing for body text.Use sub-headlines to categorize critical points into scannable information.Basic Design DevicesIncrease white space so that readers aren’t hampered by clutter.Create simple navigational structures for both written and visual content.Change long paragraphed content to bulleted items. (BEWARE “death by bullets”; more than 5 bullet points defeats the purpose of this strategy.)Bold important information. (NOTE: be strategic with your “to bold or not to bold” methodology; too much and your reader is faced with even more clutter.)Use relevant visual cues that support the most important written content. (CAREFUL: incorporating “dead weight” visuals can do much more harm than good. Leave it to a career marketing professional if this isn’t your forte.)The Nielsen study relays that these strategies increased reader comprehension 12% and provided a more satisfying reader experience.Follow Sandra on LinkedInMartin Weitzman,  executiveresumewriter.comIts Always About The ImpactIn developing your resume, LinkedIn Profile and other related career documents, it is always about how much and  your impact on the  company.How much did you help them save, how much did you help them make, or what did you do to  support your company’s cost or revenue goals? What issues was the company facing and what did you achieve in resolving those issues.Potential employers want to believe you can help them.Follow Marty on LinkedInTop Executive Resume Writing Service: Bonus TipsWendi M. Weiner,  www.writingguru.netMaster Your Elevator Pitch to Leverage Your Personal BrandOne of the most overlooked aspects of the job search strategy is the elevator pitch. Your elevator pitch is formulated by leveraging your unique value proposition and what truly separates you in your industry or niche. Mastering your elevator pitch should be a priority before you delve into updating your resume or crafting your LinkedIn profile.The job search landscape has changed dramatically in the digital age. Without a personal brand or a clear elevator pitch, it is difficult to stand out, and rise above, particularly as an executive leader. Assessments such as the Reach 360 can help define those brand personas and lea dership capabilities. Brand strategy coaching can help you understand the key skill sets that truly shape your unique value.Follow Wendi on LinkedInLaura Smith-Proulx,  An Expert ResumeAs we step into 2019, your executive job search and resume  presentation can no longer be simply tack on your latest position and  expect recruiters to call.Instead, take the time to define and leverage your passion in your executive resume and LinkedIn Profile using 2019 trends.What  distinguishes you and how do you leave a legacy of results? Fill your  resume and social media activity with examples that clearly set you  apart from other executives. Next, build a bucket list of target  employers and industries to pursue, using strategically planned  communications, while continuing to network. Summarize your personal  brand with short, powerful statements of value that describe what you  achieve and how you deliver ROI to employers.Follow Laura on LinkedInJacqui-Barrett Poindexter,  Career TrendUse a Storytelling Arc to Energize Your Career NarrativeEveryone says that a resume should actually be written as a story, an idea with which I agree. But, what does that really mean?Simply put, your resume achievements should be composed in a way that articulates a beginning, a middle and an end, and includes a story climax, where the rising action starts to fall, requiring a solution or conclusion (pivotal moment).The story arc should show how you (the candidate) were a crucial character in your companys rag to riches story, for example. The company, and the departments therein, may experience several rise and fall story arcs throughout your tenure, and as such, your resume should present those mini-stories within the larger story.The point is to draw the reader in, create the drama of the scenario (who, what, where, when, why, how) and ultimately sway the reader that you were influential, using both your hard and soft skills, to effectuate a financial climb (or rise) in the story arc, culminating in a better profitability and market share  outcome than before you joined the executive team.Follow Jacqui on LinkedInWhat is your best executive job search tip for a successful 2019 job search? Share in the comments below.

Visualize Your Success and It Will Come! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Visualize Your Success and It Will Come! - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Fortune favors the prepared mind. Louis Pasteur On a recent business flight, I struck up a conversation with a career coach who is the wife of one of the world’s leading musicians and the mother of a rising star in the world of classical percussion. Her son had recently won first place in a snare drum competition and attributed part of his success to his visualizing winning prior to the competition. The young artists’  focus, discipline and imaging techniques work for him and according to psychologists he is not alone in achieving success through imagining positive outcomes. Research suggests that using your imagination can lead to a release of endorphins which may even result in more rapid healing, reduced stress and even help you increase your chances of success in a competition. From marathon athletes who imagined themselves winning a marathon to dieters who imagined themselves as thin, imagining your success can be an effective strategy in helping you reach your goals. Experts say that envisioning your dream outcome may lead you to believe in yourself and enable you to perform better leading you to actualize your goals. Einstein said that the imagination is more important than knowledge. The more vividly and accurately you imagine your success, the easier it will be for the rest of your self to follow through. If you want to make sure you enjoy the greatest benefit on your journey to success, be sure to keep a strong focus on the following: 1) Find the purpose or goal of your life. Identify the things you love to do and that you are good at doing. Use this information to help steer your efforts in finding a suitable career. 2) Gather as much information as you can about the area youve chosen. Become knowledgeable about the issues that affect people in this field. 3) Find a mentor or a career coach to help you network, troubleshoot and strategize. 4) Study successful people and surround yourself with successful people: The culture you live in will affect your outlook. Bounce ideas off others who are successful and get inspired by people who are driven, motivated and successful. 5) Set clear goals: Consider the small steps you need to take in order to reach your primary objective. Break down each objective into tasks (or smaller goals) and streamline your ideas. Then start tackling each goal one at a time: Dont procrastinate: Get started working towards your main goal by chipping away at your smaller objectives. 6) Continuously expand your vision of what is possible for your life. A successful person is open to believing that they are capable of expanding their skills and abilities. They may start with smaller objectives to get your feet wet, achieve some success and then build on those goals. Eventually cumulative success builds confidence. Your limitations are not fixed and can be overcome with persistence. Be sure you’re always thinking about ways to expand your horizons, and try to do more than you previously thought you could. Keep your focus on the point just beyond your known capabilities. 7) Take calculated risks. 8 ) Identify the skills/things/education/materials youll need to accomplish your goals. 9) Set a timeline to achieve your objectives. 10) Stretch beyond your comfort zones at every possible opportunity. In addition to believing you are capable of more, you should strive to prove it as often as you can. Don’t just dream big and plan big â€" act big! Take bigger risks and trust your intuition to lead you to the most beneficial opportunities. 11) Dont allow yourself to become defeated by setbacks:  Expect that there will be obstacles along the way. Learn from your mistakes and develop a new course of action to realign your goals if necessary. With every giant step forward you take, your confidence and self-mastery will grow in proportion. A truly successful person never has to say a word about their accomplishments, because it’s written all over them. Typically people know when someone is successful as many have benefited from knowing them and from the support (services or skills) theyve provided. Their actions/behavior/performance speaks louder than their words! At each juncture visualize your success in accomplishing that specific goal.  When you are faced with an obstacle, imagine overcoming it and envision a positive outcome.  The end result of imagining a successful outcome will likely be achieving it in real-time; Success is more likely to follow when you focus your energy in the right areas and avoid unnecessary distractions and negative thoughts that diminish motivation. Author: Beth  is Founder and President of Get Hired, LLC.   She advises students on how to bridge the gap from school to career.  Beth is the co-author of  From Diploma to Dream Job: Five Overlooked Steps to a Successful Career.  Her coaching assists students and career changers to successfully match their needs, interests, passions, skills, and personal goals with the needs of a sustainable industry in a sustainable location.  She is a resource for print and online media and offers workshops for University Career Service Departments, Executive Recruiters, Outplacement Services, College Guidance Counselors and College Alumni Associations. See website for more details about Beth’s services  www.fromdiploma2dreamjob.com.  Beth’s Webinar was sponsored by George Washington University’s Career Services Dept. for their worldwide alumni association:  Leverage Your College Diploma.  You can follow Beth on twitter @BethKuhel

Being Yourself vs Being Professional - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Being Yourself vs Being Professional - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career One questions that I keep hearing again and again is how to brand yourself, while maintaining a professional image. You want to brand yourself based on who you are inside an authentic you but depending on your circumstances, you may have to hold back some of your clothing choices and language. You arent Lady Gaga, so you cant wear her coat of frogs to work and get away with it, without embarrassing yourself. You arent Ozzy Osbourne, so eating a bat before you give a presentation to your colleagues would be deemed inappropriate!   What Im trying to get at is that you really have to know your place in the world, as well as your audience and the type of setting youre in. Celebrities can push the limits Most celebrities can get away with almost anything, except the occasional sex addition, in Tiger Woods case. They can be themselves completely because their audience is different than most of yours. While you try and appeal to management, they are thinking about putting on an entertaining show for their fans. As mentioned in the two examples above (Ozzy and Gaga), they may stir things up to get publicity, but, at the end of the day, its their own creativity that prevails. Youll never see either of them as CEOs for a major company because employees and customers couldnt take them seriously. Lady Gaga: Imagine Gaga as the CEO of Microsoft.   The company would lose millions of dollars, a lot of credibility, and she would be asked to resign quickly, due to stockholder anger. The Gaga brand cant succeed in those conditions, but it can succeed in Hollywood because that kind of differentiation is accepted. Ozzy Osbourne: If you showed up for work today and you were greeted by your new manager, Ozzy, would you honestly be able to keep a straight face during your first meeting with him? No. Ozzy cant succeed or be respected as that kind of businessman in that setting. He can sell clothing, albums, tickets for his tour and action figures, but if you put his name on a business proposal, your coworkers would think its fake. The workplace has limits You can bring your dog to work at Google and most startups and marketing firms allow you to wear jeans and sometimes a t-shirt. If youre in sales, then you almost have to wear a suit and if you have a different corporate job, business casual is expected. For the most part, its hard to have a memorable appearance when everyone wears the same white dress shirt and dress pants each day. Similar to how some private schools have uniforms, the workplace creates a feeling of balance, yet lacks individuality. If your brand is about wearing shorts and a hat all the time, then you cant carry that into the workforce. You would have to find some other way to make money, while maintaining that appearance. For instance, you could start your own clothing line or do stand-up comedy, but if the income from either cant support you, then you still have to suffer in your dress pants at work. In the corporate world its all about acting the part. This means that you cant dress and behave like a CEO if you still have the associate mindset and presence. How to be yourself without losing everything The object of this post is to help you identify where you can be yourself, while making money, and how to avoid hurting your brand in the wrong situations. Life can be complicated if you dont put yourself in a situation where you can be yourself! Joining a company that makes you dress like someone you arent, isnt acceptable in a world filled with an endless pit of choices. Understand who you are and be honest with yourself. Take into account how you want to dress and behave, the people you want to surround yourself with and the types of work environments where you can be yourself (and succeed). Identify your strengths, your current marketplace value, as well as your financial situation and family responsibilities. By doing this step, youll know if you can afford to be yourself 24/7. If you cant, then you might have to have more than one job, until youre financially stable. Examine the audience (the companies) that would best reflect your authentic brand. The best way to do this is to ask peers what their experiences are like in their companies. You may also decide to start your own company so you can have more control over your brand, appearance wise. Create and communicate the brand that aligns your passion, expertise and allows you to make money. Money matters when it comes to being yourself, while maintaining a financial status that can support your lifestyle. Passion will force you to work hard enough to succeed in being an expert in a subject. Your turn Are you having issues branding yourself, while maintaining a professional image?

Memory Trouble How to Remember Better

Memory Trouble How to Remember Better We’ve all been there. A familiar face comes into view, a friendly hand extends towards us, and we reach out for a shake. The person calls us by our first name, now it’s our turn. Our mind races. “Frank? Ben? Definitely Ben. Or was it Brad? Definitely began with “B”, maybe Bill?” Being bad at remembering names is a relatively mild social faux pas, but the consequences of a poor memory and bad information retention can go far beyond embarrassing moments by the water cooler. Over time it decimates productivity and in the wrong situation can potentially lead to disaster. Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which we can go about being better at remembering things and retaining information. While the ability to possess total recall may not be attainable for most, it’s safe to say that with a little adjustment to their daily routines, everyone can get better at remembering. Here are some ideas to help improve your memory trouble and remember better. Get Assistance The phrase “too much information” has new meaning in the 21st century. Due to the substantial growth of the internet and speed at which data can be shared, humans today are overloaded with information. It’s simply more than the brain can handle without losing sight of some of the finer details. A second brain is needed to help people keep track of all the information zooming by on a daily basis. While we aren’t quite to the point of having back-up brain technology, apps like Evernote are providing an effective substitute in the meantime. Keeping digital notes assembled in a variety of formats provides a way for an individual to log the things he or she is typically too busy to effectively commit to memory. Later on, when the notes are reviewed, the ideas and inspiration which would have previously been lost are revived and readily available. Get Some Sleep Unsurprisingly, sleep is vital to strong memory. During REM sleep, the brain consolidates thoughts and interactions experienced throughout the previous day. If a person is unable to achieve REM sleep on a regular basis, their brain is essentially unable to effectively archive short-term memory into long-term retention. Taking steps to improve quality of sleep is critical to being better at remembering things. Put the phone away an hour before bedtime. Eat your last meal three hours before bedtime. Go to bed and wake up at times that coordinate with a healthy sleep cycle. Do this, and after a month it’s all but assured memory will be improved. Find Your Trick According to Harvard Medical School, simple tricks can vastly improve the ability to remember details. Maybe it’s repeating information out loud several times or making associations between new information and more familiar things to have a better chance of retention. Whatever your trick, find it and use it. Drink Some Coffee Debate lingers as to whether or not caffeine consumed prior to learning helps with retaining information.   But one study suggests caffeine ingested after a learning experience will improve memory consolidation. With that in mind, it might prove beneficial to drink a cup of coffee right after an important business meeting or networking event. Diet Exercise Lastly, there is no denying the relationship between memory health and physical health. The foods we eat and the levels of exercise we engage in on a regular basis will influence our ability to retain information. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat are shown to be linked with lower rates of Alzheimers and mild cognitive impairment. Exercising four hours after an important learning experience has also been shown by research cited by HMS to improve one’s ability to remember. Part of the reason we have trouble remembering things is that there is simply so much to remember these days. With that said, simple steps can be taken to make ourselves be better at remembering. We just have to remember to try them!

Cheap Resume Writing Services - The Best Places to Get Cheap Resume Writing Services

Cheap Resume Writing Services - The Best Places to Get Cheap Resume Writing ServicesBefore you go and try and figure out where to get cheap resume writing services, there are some things that you should know. Whether you are a recent college graduate or an experienced professional with years of experience, the chances are that you have some qualifications that are overlooked by employers. Whether you have completed an internship or perhaps even started out as a fresh graduate, these considerations can help you improve your chances of getting the job that you want.In the first place, if you really want to find the best places to get cheap resume writing services, it is important that you keep in mind some of the simple rules that work well for most of the applicants. Keep in mind that the majority of these individuals were already very qualified before they came into the business. These individuals also knew what they needed to do to have their resumes in order.Before you go off and t ry and design a new resume, take some time to consider how much work you're trying to accomplish. Make sure that the contents of your document matches up with your personal needs and goals for your job search. This is essential so that you don't end up having a resume that was completely wasted because you did not follow the proper steps of creating one.If you have an original resume, it is essential that you look for a place that will allow you to use this document as long as you need to. Don't forget that you have all of the time that you need to review this document. Sometimes this is all that you need.It might even be beneficial to get an original resume that you can customize after you have made the decision that you want to design one for yourself. By having a copy of the original document, you will be able to see how it will look once you start working on it. This can give you a great idea of what you can expect as you go through the process of customizing your own resume.Mak e sure that you take the time to compare prices between any two or three of the best places to get cheap resume writing services. This is going to help you find out what you can expect to pay as well as what you can get for the money. Even if you are trying to find a small budget for your service, it is still wise to compare prices.You can also take some time to interview some of the potential candidates that you are thinking about working with in order to find out what they are getting paid. Just be sure that you take the time to ask them about their services as well. The last thing that you want to do is find out that the person that you want to work with doesn't offer a decent deal on his services.It is very easy to get all of the tips that you need to make sure that you find the best places to get cheap resume writing services. All that you need to do is take the time to take some time to do a little bit of research. By doing this, you will find that you have a great chance of f inding a place that will help you be able to get the most out of your professional resume.

Dont Chuck Your Career Before You Take These Steps - Kathy Caprino

Dont Chuck Your Career Before You Take These Steps I’ve spent eight years working with mid to high-level professionals and executives to achieve greater career success, growth and leadership, as well as to transform their careers completely.   I know a good deal about the process personally too, as I’ve traversed a number of diverging career paths over the past 20 years, including publishing, marketing, market research, marriage and family therapy, coaching, speaking, and teaching. If you asked me my views on career reinvention five years ago, I would have said some very different things than I do today. So what’s different? In the past three and a half years, I’ve learned what’s required (for myself and others) to navigate through highly challenging financial times while at the same time successfully creating a more fulfilling professional life. I’m not talking about pie-in-the-sky, follow-your-bliss nonsense here.   I’m talking about real-life positive career and life change that lasts and continues to reap benefit and reward. The Myth of Career Ecstasy Today, as new clients come to me â€" both men and women â€" I see an alarming myth that thousands of midlife individuals have been suckered into believing.   It’s hitting boomer folks hard, and truthfully, I don’t see this same myth prevalent in younger generations.   I call it the “myth of career ecstasy” â€" the damaging, misguided notion that all it will take to make your life happier and more rewarding is to chuck out your old, unsatisfying career, and land in a new one, despite what else is falling apart in your life. Here’s how the story goes: A midlife professional woman comes to me after 15+ years of corporate work.   She’s awakened to the following realizations, and they hurt: It feels as if her work has no contributive value in the world any more (for instance, she feels she’s “selling” something that doesn’t matter at all or isn’t of positive influence in the world) She’s bored out of her mind doing the work she knows best and desperately wants a change Her family needs her substantial income of $100M+ Her husband and children have grown accustomed to her overfunctioning and her perfectionism, and don’t want things to change too much. (Note: she handles over 75% of the domestic responsibility as well as her full-time job, and she’s worn out, stressed and depressed.   And her overfunctioning has held her husband back from contributing his fair share, financially, domestically, and otherwise.) She feels an urgent need to change her personal and professional situation She’s in a financial trap, not having saved enough money to take several years off to re-strategize, gain new education or training, and reinvent her career path On top of these stresses, there are relationship, behavioral and other issues with her family members (elderly parents, children, spouse, etc.) that need urgent addressing Despite the fact that numerous dimensions of this individual’s life are truly in “breakdown” mode, she believes that it’s a new career she should focus on, as (in her mind) that will bring her life the joy, peace, excitement, meaning, health, and purpose she longs for. The problem is, it’s simply not true. In her case â€" and for hundreds of thousands of women professionals in the world today â€" it’s not a wholesale career change that will bring you the satisfaction and fulfillment you want.   Instead, it’s taking hard, urgently-needed action that addresses the root causes of your troubles that will make the difference in your career and life. Busting the Career Ecstasy Myth: The Top Six  Steps You Need to Take to Change Your Life for the Better Here’s what needs to happen for your life to change for the better… and it isn’t job change, for now. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE ON FORBES.COM What are your top three life and career challenges today and are you addressing them head on?

5 Ways to Ensure Your Internship is a Meaningful Experience - CareerAlley

5 Ways to Ensure Your Internship is a Meaningful Experience - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Internships duringyour college career and a year or so after college are a dime a dozen. As you probably know, some internships provide amazing opportunitieswhile other internshipscan be a waste of time. Nevertheless, you can still turn any internship into an experiencethat works in your favor and enables you to get a good job in the future. Its really all about how you approach it (both before and during the internship). No matter where you intern, youll have to be proactive. Heres how: 1. Start your search early, leverage connections: Getting the right internship, or one that will provide the best experience can be challenging.Start your internship search early and leverage your connections. Your professors are likely to know where there are some opportunities that match your interests. They will know people in the industry and may even have a list of intern opportunities. Your College Career office will have the best leads. Companies will contact them directly with opportunities. Network with friends, family and fellow students. Family members are often the best source of intern opportunities. 2.Get hands-on experience and leave with a mentor: The value of internships goes far beyond learning specific skills. Think of it as a networking opportunity. What every soon-to-graduate student needs is a mentor in the working world. Most established professionals in any industry are more than willing to help you develop your own career. Of course, finding a mentor through your internship is not as easy as just saying, Will you be my mentor? Its about making acquaintances, chatting people up, and putting yourself out there. Its about building relationships. 3.Be grateful and stay in touch: Of course, you want to stay in touch with your mentor and others you worked with during your internship. Make contacts within the organization for which you are working and keep in touch. Connect via LinkedIn and send a personal thank you em after leaving your internship. They did, after all, provide you with a career-building experience. Gratitude and communication go a very long way once youre out there trying to find a job in the future. More than just that, its the right thing to do. 4. Learn by asking questions: This is your opportunity to learn first hand. Ask as many questions as feasible to ensure you not only understand how best to do your role, but to understand how it fits in to the department and company. Ask how your coworkers get additional training and knowledge about their jobs and do the same. 5. Take initiative: Dont wait for work to come to you, once youve finished the tasks given to you ask for more tasks. Most organizations have many pending projects and tasks. Taking initiative will show your manager that you are serious about your job and that you want to learn. The more you learn, the more that can go on your resume. Have some ideas? Speak up, just because you are an intern doesnt mean that you might not have some excellent ideas. Of course, sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your internship might be something of a bust. But if you approach it with the right attitude, youd be surprised by the rewards you might reap later. Good luck! more Internship Resources We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+