I Hate My Coach

I Hate My Coach Ive been really big on coaches since I really started to learn about them last year. As a job seeker we were told to get a coach, not your spouse! It was during the time when I was just figuring out the job search and career management thing, and as I learned more about coaches I kind of came up with my own thing you can read the three things that a coach must have in order to really be effective here. I partner with coaches, which is really quite fun. Im not sure if its their personality, or that they are just in the zone, but usually when we are on the phone talking about their business and JibberJobber theyll start coaching me. This happens about 30 minutes into the call and Im not sure if they realize they do it, but it really is interesting to have these impromptu coaching sessions. I announced that I had engaged in a coaching relationship about a month ago. And today I want to give an update: I do not look forward to my coaching sessions. We have weekly sessions. I have not had a week off since we started. I have homework. Im supposed to recap our sessions AND write an e-mail before our session recapping my week. He asks really simple questions that, deep down inside, I already know the answer to. He asks some questions that I know I should be asking myself but have been purposefully ignoring. He tries really hard to not give me the answers, rather, pulls them out of me in a sometimes painful dialog. While our discussions are generally low-key, I know that Im not going to get away with anything. Our coaching relationship is built on trust and mutual respect. I have immense respect for him as a leader and manager. He trusts that Im being honest with him. Probably more important, he trusts that Im being honest with myself. Has it been beneficial? No doubt. Is it fun? . its rewarding, but its a growth process, so its more painful than fun. Do we go over common-sense stuff? Yes I have a business degree, an MBA, and years of management and strategic experience. But I find myself not being able to see the trees through the forest (or however that goes). So I need to be grounded regularly. Whats the most beneficial thing I get out of our coaching relationship? I cant decide between (a) having a smarter, wiser person to help me solve current problems with or (b) the regular accountability (Im not one that needs accountability, but this takes it to another level). Do I really hate my coach? No, of course not. But this is something that makes me grow, and growing is hard an uncomfortable. Im fortunate to have a coach that is helping me through, even pushing me through this period in my life and business. Who is my coach? Im going to out him this week stay tuned. Are you a coach? Did you know your clients go through this? Have you had a coach? Does this ring true? I Hate My Coach Ive been really big on coaches since I really started to learn about them last year. As a job seeker we were told to get a coach, not your spouse! It was during the time when I was just figuring out the job search and career management thing, and as I learned more about coaches I kind of came up with my own thing you can read the three things that a coach must have in order to really be effective here. I partner with coaches, which is really quite fun. Im not sure if its their personality, or that they are just in the zone, but usually when we are on the phone talking about their business and JibberJobber theyll start coaching me. This happens about 30 minutes into the call and Im not sure if they realize they do it, but it really is interesting to have these impromptu coaching sessions. I announced that I had engaged in a coaching relationship about a month ago. And today I want to give an update: I do not look forward to my coaching sessions. We have weekly sessions. I have not had a week off since we started. I have homework. Im supposed to recap our sessions AND write an e-mail before our session recapping my week. He asks really simple questions that, deep down inside, I already know the answer to. He asks some questions that I know I should be asking myself but have been purposefully ignoring. He tries really hard to not give me the answers, rather, pulls them out of me in a sometimes painful dialog. While our discussions are generally low-key, I know that Im not going to get away with anything. Our coaching relationship is built on trust and mutual respect. I have immense respect for him as a leader and manager. He trusts that Im being honest with him. Probably more important, he trusts that Im being honest with myself. Has it been beneficial? No doubt. Is it fun? . its rewarding, but its a growth process, so its more painful than fun. Do we go over common-sense stuff? Yes I have a business degree, an MBA, and years of management and strategic experience. But I find myself not being able to see the trees through the forest (or however that goes). So I need to be grounded regularly. Whats the most beneficial thing I get out of our coaching relationship? I cant decide between (a) having a smarter, wiser person to help me solve current problems with or (b) the regular accountability (Im not one that needs accountability, but this takes it to another level). Do I really hate my coach? No, of course not. But this is something that makes me grow, and growing is hard an uncomfortable. Im fortunate to have a coach that is helping me through, even pushing me through this period in my life and business. Who is my coach? Im going to out him this week stay tuned. Are you a coach? Did you know your clients go through this? Have you had a coach? Does this ring true? I Hate My Coach Ive been really big on coaches since I really started to learn about them last year. As a job seeker we were told to get a coach, not your spouse! It was during the time when I was just figuring out the job search and career management thing, and as I learned more about coaches I kind of came up with my own thing you can read the three things that a coach must have in order to really be effective here. I partner with coaches, which is really quite fun. Im not sure if its their personality, or that they are just in the zone, but usually when we are on the phone talking about their business and JibberJobber theyll start coaching me. This happens about 30 minutes into the call and Im not sure if they realize they do it, but it really is interesting to have these impromptu coaching sessions. I announced that I had engaged in a coaching relationship about a month ago. And today I want to give an update: I do not look forward to my coaching sessions. We have weekly sessions. I have not had a week off since we started. I have homework. Im supposed to recap our sessions AND write an e-mail before our session recapping my week. He asks really simple questions that, deep down inside, I already know the answer to. He asks some questions that I know I should be asking myself but have been purposefully ignoring. He tries really hard to not give me the answers, rather, pulls them out of me in a sometimes painful dialog. While our discussions are generally low-key, I know that Im not going to get away with anything. Our coaching relationship is built on trust and mutual respect. I have immense respect for him as a leader and manager. He trusts that Im being honest with him. Probably more important, he trusts that Im being honest with myself. Has it been beneficial? No doubt. Is it fun? . its rewarding, but its a growth process, so its more painful than fun. Do we go over common-sense stuff? Yes I have a business degree, an MBA, and years of management and strategic experience. But I find myself not being able to see the trees through the forest (or however that goes). So I need to be grounded regularly. Whats the most beneficial thing I get out of our coaching relationship? I cant decide between (a) having a smarter, wiser person to help me solve current problems with or (b) the regular accountability (Im not one that needs accountability, but this takes it to another level). Do I really hate my coach? No, of course not. But this is something that makes me grow, and growing is hard an uncomfortable. Im fortunate to have a coach that is helping me through, even pushing me through this period in my life and business. Who is my coach? Im going to out him this week stay tuned. Are you a coach? Did you know your clients go through this? Have you had a coach? Does this ring true? I Hate My Coach Ive been really big on coaches since I really started to learn about them last year. As a job seeker we were told to get a coach, not your spouse! It was during the time when I was just figuring out the job search and career management thing, and as I learned more about coaches I kind of came up with my own thing you can read the three things that a coach must have in order to really be effective here. I partner with coaches, which is really quite fun. Im not sure if its their personality, or that they are just in the zone, but usually when we are on the phone talking about their business and JibberJobber theyll start coaching me. This happens about 30 minutes into the call and Im not sure if they realize they do it, but it really is interesting to have these impromptu coaching sessions. I announced that I had engaged in a coaching relationship about a month ago. And today I want to give an update: I do not look forward to my coaching sessions. We have weekly sessions. I have not had a week off since we started. I have homework. Im supposed to recap our sessions AND write an e-mail before our session recapping my week. He asks really simple questions that, deep down inside, I already know the answer to. He asks some questions that I know I should be asking myself but have been purposefully ignoring. He tries really hard to not give me the answers, rather, pulls them out of me in a sometimes painful dialog. While our discussions are generally low-key, I know that Im not going to get away with anything. Our coaching relationship is built on trust and mutual respect. I have immense respect for him as a leader and manager. He trusts that Im being honest with him. Probably more important, he trusts that Im being honest with myself. Has it been beneficial? No doubt. Is it fun? . its rewarding, but its a growth process, so its more painful than fun. Do we go over common-sense stuff? Yes I have a business degree, an MBA, and years of management and strategic experience. But I find myself not being able to see the trees through the forest (or however that goes). So I need to be grounded regularly. Whats the most beneficial thing I get out of our coaching relationship? I cant decide between (a) having a smarter, wiser person to help me solve current problems with or (b) the regular accountability (Im not one that needs accountability, but this takes it to another level). Do I really hate my coach? No, of course not. But this is something that makes me grow, and growing is hard an uncomfortable. Im fortunate to have a coach that is helping me through, even pushing me through this period in my life and business. Who is my coach? Im going to out him this week stay tuned. Are you a coach? Did you know your clients go through this? Have you had a coach? Does this ring true?

5 Tips to Help You Build an Empowered Open Office Culture from Scratch

5 Tips to Help You Build an Empowered Open Office Culture from Scratch This article is sponsored by Dropbox, see their  open positions here. It’s been just over a year since I was handed the keys to Dropbox’s brand new UK Office in central London. I walked into our then tiny, empty space with the two main components of my mission at the front of my mind: Build a team (from scratch) capable of developing and scaling Dropbox Business in the UK Build an office culture representative of the inclusive values which the company lives by. It’s been an eventful, challenging, and (thankfully!) enjoyable 18 months. Today, I’m proud to be able to walk through our new-and-improved London office and see a full Enterprise sales division, a Marketing team, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, Channel/Partnerships, Professional Services (and more besides). This headcount growth is great, but I’m even more proud of the solid cultural foundations we have built and continued to develop. I’d love to share with you how we did it… 1. Understand and believe in your company values. I mean really understand and believe them! Let’s be clear from the start: building an office culture from scratch is not easy. It takes a lot of thought and an unwavering level of commitment from all involved. When being tasked with founding a new office for a company, you’re being trusted with the most valuable thing an organisation possesses: its core values. You are both ambassador and evangelist of these values and the buck stops with you and your initial team. When considering taking on a ‘build from scratch’ project, you really must do your cultural due diligence. Getting to really understand a company’s values and deciding if you truly believe in them is paramount. As one of the first feet on the ground in a new region, you can’t fake it. In my case at Dropbox, the values of be humble and we, not I resonated straight away. I knew I could get behind these values and that I was genuinely excited about building a team that would bring them to life and not just a group of capable ‘individuals’. 2. Pull together a strong landing team and empower them to prioritise hiring The landing team (in other words, the first three or four people hired to set up the office with you) is vital to the success of the office’s cultural growth. Ideally, one or two members of this landing team will be transfers from HQ to your new office and will have a deep understanding of your company values. The bonds that you have with this initial team will be strong: you’ll spend a lot of time together in close-quarters, you’ll learn from them and they’ll learn from you. You’ll be experiencing a near-constant level of ambiguity throughout your first few months together, it’ll be challenging and exhilarating in equal measure. You must ensure two main things when thinking about this landing team: You all value working in an environment in which trust and transparency are non-negotiable. As crazy as it might sound (especially when you have big targets to hit), you must empower your landing team not to focus solely on their core roles. The most important job a new landing team has, is to hire a great team and set the office up for long-term success. That’s your priority and it should be theirs too. 3. Understand that hires 5 through 10 in a new office are the most important you’ll ever make Employees number 5 through 10 in a new office really do have the power to make or break a culture, so build the most calibrated and compromise-averse interview panel that you can.  And don’t take your foot off the gas once you hire your landing team. Bring in the wrong “next five” members of your team and your office culture will change irreparably for the worse. The biggest nightmare for any Hiring Manager is to bring on board an initial team of Culture A-Players and then have this strong initial culture diluted with Culture B- or C-Players. After all, why would an A-Player want to stay in a team of Bs and Cs? When hiring: if in doubt, don’t do it. How do you avoid making costly mis-hires? If you’ve empowered your landing team to spend time performing crucial recruiting tasks, then that’s a great start. Next, make sure you do the following: Build an interview panel involving your landing team and cross-functional stakeholders from other parts of the business and other locations (video conference interviews are no longer the disasters they once were) Hold a kick-off meeting with your recruiting team and the entire interview panel. Make sure every interviewer knows the ins-and-outs of the process and the exact requirements of the role for which you’re hiring. Each interviewer should have a specific task to complete in the interview process (perhaps they’ll be testing for hard role-related skills, or maybe they’ll be assessing how a candidate measures up against a specific company value). Having the whole team totally prepared and calibrated before the first candidates come in to meet you is essential and saves a lot of time! 4. Focus on diversity in all its forms A team that can only approach a challenge with the same pair of eyes will not get very far. To build an inclusive culture, it’s imperative to hire a team of people with a broad set of life and professional experiences under their belts. Prioritise gender diversity, too, and then work together as a team to foster a culture in which colleagues can rely on each other to provide diverse insights and support, when needed. Every company craves this, so why not strive to make it a reality? 5. Be humble. Build a team of people who are willing and excited to roll up their sleeves and do the less glamorous stuff Regardless of the size or status of the company you’ve joined, if you’re part of a brand new office then life won’t be glamorous. You’re now part of a start-up within a larger company, so you’ll have to get used to living the start-up life. You and your initial team will be caretakers, receptionists, office managers, fridge-stockers, IT maintenance, flatpack-furniture-builders and everything in between. Building a team with a humble enough attitude to be willing and excited to roll up their sleeves and put the extra work is key. You and the team must leave your egos at the door: that’s non-negotiable. Building a collaborative, happy, and inclusive office culture doesn’t happen overnight. There will never be a one-size-fits-all guide on how to achieve cultural harmony from scratch in a new office, but believing deeply in your own company values and following the above steps will hopefully be a good place to start. Want to join Dropbox? Check out our  open roles. Mark van der Linden is Managing Director for Dropbox in the UK. He leads the London office’s day-to-day operations, overseeing sales, marketing, and partnerships. Image: Shutterstock.

Can You Make the 10% Social Media Commitment - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Can You Make the 10% Social Media Commitment - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career How many followers do you have on Social Media? Would you be willing to make the commitment to meet 10% of them in person? How about 20% or even 50% of them? Would you be willing to make the time, the effort and the commitment to go out and physically meet at least 10% of the people you follow and/or follow you on Social Media channels. You can pick just the more common channels of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn here. Or, depending upon how you use Social Media you may prefer to include YouTube, Instagram, Vine or other social channels. Whether You Have 100 or 100,000 Some people have a lot of contacts across the various Social Media channels. And you might be asking yourself… To what end would this serve? Well, there are some logical points that could be considered. For example, if you are following them why wouldn’t you want to meet them in person. FACT: Some people are better at a distance I can tell you from personal experience that there are some people that I would much rather follow than meet in person. That’s life. It doesn’t mean they are bad people or that I am. It’s just that we can have a better conversation over social media channels than we can in person. I’m sure there are a few people like this in your stream of followers too. Again, it doesn’t make them bad or make you bad. It’s just that some people are better at a distance. So, why would anyone want to do this? One line of thinking considers why we follow people in the first place. In the real world we follow people for work, for sports, for entertainment and other purposes. In the Social Media sphere we might follow a completely different set of people. Why? Partially because we can. Also, because there are people in different parts of the world (or perhaps just around the corner) that can bring a completely different point of view to a conversation. For me this is one of the biggest factors in who I follow. There are people that have interesting, unique and sometimes completely opposite points of view to my own that make conversations great. Why Won’t This Work? And other excuses we tell ourselves. There are a lot of logical, logistical and perhaps financial reasons  why this may or may not work. I’m sure you have probably already thought  of 10 reasons why this would never work and why you wouldn’t even want to start. However, I challenge you  to consider it.  To at least consider the possibility. There is no right or wrong here. It’s just an idea. Who knows you might meet some very interesting people and have some incredible conversations that could only happen in person. So, what do you say? Can you make the 10% Commitment? Drop a note in the comments and let me know why or why not. Inquiring minds want to know. My Commitment to You:  If I follow you or if you follow me I personally would like to extend an invitation to meet in person. I speak at a lot of events around the country and will be doing more global presentations again in 2015. Please let me know if you happen to see that we are at the same event or if I happen to be in your town. I’d like to see if we can be part of that 10% Commitment.

19 Answers To What Is Your Greatest Strength - Algrim.co

19 Answers To What Is Your Greatest Strength - Algrim.co

The Reputation Economy is Here! Are You Prepared - Career Pivot

The Reputation Economy is Here! Are You Prepared - Career Pivot Reputation Economy Copyright: cequetuveux / 123RF Stock Photo I have been reading/listening toThe Reputation Economy: How to Optimize Your Digital Footprint in a World Where Your Reputation Is Your Most Valuable Asset. I was introduced to this book by my good friend Ryan Rhotenon his “Brand New You” podcast. The first page of the book sets the stage for a very scary future for most baby boomers. The author writes: REPUTATION IS POWER. Your reputation defines who will talk to you and what they will do with you or for you. It determines whether your bank will lend you money to buy a house or a car; it determines whether your landlord will accept you as a tenant; it determines which employers will hire you or whether you can even get a job at all; it may determine the types of special offers and VIP experiences you receive; and it can even profoundly affect your dating prospects. Your reputation among insurers determines your ability to get coverage for your health, auto, home, or life. And your reputation with the government can even determine whether you are investigated for a crime. And it’s getting more powerful than ever. Thanks to rapid advances in digital technology, your reputation will become ubiquitous, permanent, and availableworldwideâ€"whether you like it or not. Everywhere you go, other people will be able to instantly access information about your reputationâ€"with or without your knowledge or consen t. You probably realize that this has been happening for a long time. Now, you get your FICO score with your monthly credit card bill. Your FICO score will affect whether you are hired or not. There are also other ways you are being tracked and measured. Digital Storage The reputation economy is enabled by cheap and nearly inexhaustible digital storage. I learned how to program on punch cards and paper tape. A really BIG hard drive was 10 MB. Now, I get 1 TB Dropbox for $100 per year and I get a free 1 TB bundled with my business e-mail account from Google. It is now more expensive to delete data than to add more storage. What effect does this have on your digital reputation? Anything that can be recorded in digital format willnever go away.Even if you delete a picture from Facebook or Instagram, it is still stored somewhere…forever. Listen to the most recent episode The data being collected today may not have a current use, but that does not mean it will be that way forever. In the reputation economy, your digital footprint is being recorded and will never disappear. Digital Footprint Previously, I published a guest post called, 5 Tips On How To Manage Your Digital Footprint, which discussed how to manage your online presence. Whenever you are online, you are being watched. I am dabbling with Google Ads in the right-hand column of this website. If you look at the ads, you will notice that it is probably from a website you recently visited. Every click of the mouse is being recorded. Google knows where you have been! You already realizeâ€"at least I hope you doâ€"that every credit card transaction is recorded and analyzed. Credit card companies are both looking for possible fraud and buying patterns. They sell this information to databureaus where your purchasing habits are studied. You are being watchedand your behavior is being recorded. Is all of this data being used and analyzed? Probably not…at least not yet. However, remember that we live in a world where it is more expensive to delete data than getting more storage. For More:5 Tips On How To Manage Your Digital Footprint DAMM â€" Decisions Almost Made by Machines Your FICO score is a classic reputation score. You may be offered special deals based on your FICO score. You may never get a credit card offer based on your FICO score. You will never know. This is a classic example of DAMM, or Decisions Almost Made by Machines. We already know that if you have a keyword optimized LinkedIn profile you are more likely to get called by a recruiter. If recruiters do not call you, itmight because your LinkedIn profile stinks.You just don’t know. What about your Klout score? Klout measures your social media influence, or at least that is what they claim it is. Your Klout score is used in the hiring process for some jobs. I can pretty much guarantee that your Klout score will be looked at if you are applying for a sales or marketing position. You might be thinking, “I don’t use social media! I’m not on Facebook or Twitter, so I have nothing to worry about.” Well… The author writes: Take the example of one German newspaper that noted that two recent mass murderers had opted out of online social life and went on to suggest that anyone who avoided Facebook and other online tools might be suspicious. Yes, it’s an unfair inference, but it’s one that will probably be drawn whether you like it or not. For More:Finding Keywords to Manage Your Career [Video] The Reputation Economy and the Future I know a lot of you will find this pretty scary. You might have seen the movie Minority Reportwhere crimes were predicted before they happened and people were prosecuted for crimes in the future. You may think this is too futuristic, but the author writes: With the growth of facial recognition, license plate scanners, and other technologies that you can’t really avoid (covering one’s license plate is generally illegal, and don’t try walking into a bank with your face covered for anything other than religious reasons), it’s safe to assume that anything you do on or offline is being stored and scored. The book takes you on a journey on how you can drown out your bad reputation. Although you can never delete data that says less than flattering things about you (whether true or not), you can make it difficult to find. Just as you are probably tracking and managing your credit score, you should also be managing your reputation score. By the way, my Klout Score is 62. Any score 63 and above puts you in the top 5% of influencers using social media. Are you ready to manage your online reputation? Does this scare the crap out of you? Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Landing a Job Over 50

Landing a Job Over 50 Ive been getting lots of calls on radio and several emails from people over 50 who want to change careers or land a new job. Many, though quite accomplished, are very concerned that their age will be an issue in finding a new job. Heres my advice if youre concerned about landing a job over 50:Write out your ideal job description(even if you think its impossible.) By articulating what you want, you are in a better position to tell others about what you are looking for and increase your chances of finding it. Youre also less likely to settle for the first thing that comes along. Read career books. Betsy Cummings book, Job Hunting Over 50, offers practical advice and useful tips. I interviewed Betsy on Martha Stewart Living Radio and got great response from listeners on her advice. Go online. AARP has an entire career site dedicated to people over 50. Their site even includes the list of best employers for people over 50! Seniors for Hire is also a job hunting site specifically for peop le over 50. Of course, career coaching can be of help in offering your specific advice on your situation. Id be happy to do a complimentary 30 min session for anyone struggling with this issue.And let me know Has age been an issue in your career? Or have you found the career fountain of youth and been able to sustain a great career well over 50?Post your comments below. Id love to hear from you!

Resume Writing Academy Reviews Can Be Helpful

Resume Writing Academy Reviews Can Be HelpfulIf you're about to hire a new employee for your company, you might want to consider using the services of a resume writing academy. A resume is the first and most important communication that an employer will have with the applicant. The applicant must make it easy for the employer to easily navigate through the resume and pick out the skills that are most applicable to their company's needs. An inexperienced job applicant may present a resume that does not offer any real insight to the candidate.College students tend to do poorly when it comes to their resumes, as they tend to be a bit overwhelmed by their studies. Many college students have worked hard to establish themselves in a field where they are truly capable. An employer may see many college students who have put in the effort but never quite seem to be able to figure out how to make it simple for them to actually make a good impression on the employer.For resume writers, it can b e even more stressful than normal to come up with a resume for a college student. High school seniors are not only unique, but are also much less experienced than college students. If a college student can't do the job well, it will mean that the job is either going to take a long time to get done or it will be given to someone else.Resume writing academy reviews offer some helpful tips for how to write resumes for college students. The students should keep in mind that there are often two very different personality types among college students. Some students are more extroverted, while others are more shy.Make sure that the resume is clear about what each section is supposed to include. You don't want to present the college student's degree as a 'Bachelor of Arts in Journalism' but rather, a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Use this information in the information about the university as well.College students are eager to impress, so most likely they will be anxious to present a uniq ue part of themselves. One way that a student can do this is to include a list of achievements that is personal and well written. Also, it's important to get your dates of attendance correct.If a student wants to use the services of an academy to help write their resume, it's important to realize that there are also very unique people in the business sector. Many of these professionals do things that are not conventional. A resume that includes all of these things will provide an impressive picture of the candidate. After all, you want the employer to know you've got something to say, not just something that's expected.Resume writing academy reviews can also give one another advice on how to get past the recruiter if they do not have prior experience in the job. Having a resume that contains all of the right information, along with your attitude, is much more beneficial than having a resume that is so dry.