How Is Your Bedside Manner (as a job seeker)

How Is Your Bedside Manner (as a job seeker) At least one person that Im close to (okay, its my wife) can tell you that I have the tendency to be a grump old man. Apparently its becoming the normal.  But for a minute, while I write this post, Ill put that aside, and talk about other peoples grump. I recently heard about a dentist visit where the dentist was working with a child and said things to the mom that would have freaked out the child (who was already a bit freaked out).  Why didnt the dentist not say that until (a) he was done, and (b) he was alone with just the mom?  He had zero consideration for the state of mind his patient was in, and how unhelpful the conversation was. I also heard about a mechanic who treated a customer with impatience and downplayed the customers concerns. The customer went away frustrated, feeling unheard, and unresolved. There was the time when oh, you get the idea. Youve had bad customer service experiences also Im sure you could share your top five bad experiences. But thats not the point of this post. Lets contrast this to a recent experience I had at my local tire shop. For years Ive wondered why their customer service has gone down in the olden days (the 1900s) I remember pulling up and having someone on the crew run out to my car to see what I needed, before I even got out. That doesnt happen now, and hasnt for years. But recently I had a problem tire replaced. Or at least I tried to. I drove off without realizing they replaced the wrong one!  So, Monday morning, Im back at the shop and explained the problem, even saying Im not sure if I miscommunicated it, or the desk lady put the wrong thing in the computer, maybe it was my fault. But the problem is you didnt replace my bad tireand thats what I need fixed.  About 45 minutes later they called my name. The verdict? No charge, an apology, and now I have two new tires!  That is excellent customer service. No lecture, which was great bedside manner. Or, that same day I was in my office and noticed our internet service providers van pull up. He was supposed to come the following day but his schedule opened up and here he was could he fix our problem today instead of tomorrow?  Of course!  What followed was almost an hour of excellent dont worry, Ill find this and fix it, Ill get you back up to speed in no time!  There was no downtalking, no grumbling about his job he was cheerful and made us feel like he cared about us.  We felt awesome, and when he left, we had our problems fixed.  That was excellent service, and he had an excellent bedside manner. Now, lets relate that to you and your job search.  You are the provider of experience (even though you are closely observing everyone elses manner). You are the mechanic, the dentist, the tire guy. You have a chance to delight me, and make me feel special, or you can, with a simple look, tone, or word choice, make me feel unheard, unresolved, and not anxious to do more business with you. This impacts the results you get when you network. Do you help others feel comfortable with you, and recommending you? If not, check your bedside manner. This impacts your interviews. Are you going to be remembered as the jerk, or the person that would fit well on our team!? This even impacts your emails. If you have poor bedside manner you might find that people are put off by you, which means they might not want to recommend you, network with you, interview you, hire you, etc. I think there are two parts to this: Who you are, really. Where is your heart? Do you care about others, or what you are working on? Changing who you are might not be fair, but self-realization could help you understand why you are (or are not) getting the results you want. How you communicate. Communication is a skill. We all need to improve our communication and we can. We might not need or want to change who we are, but we can certainly learn and practice and improve our communication skills. The dentists job is to fix teeth. Its not to be the best communicator in the world. Id rather have a competent dentist who fixes my teeth problems than someone who doesnt know teeth but is an excellent communicator. But, the excellent communication skills can help a dentist have satisfied, fulfilled, delighted, happier patients. Better communication skills can help the dentist have better relationships with his/her staff, which means a better culture, less turnover (and cost), more loyalty, more job satisfaction, etc. Better communication skills, with excellent dentist skills, can help increase referrals, business, margins, etc. I assume that, whatever your profession is, you are competent. You can do the job. Some of you are excellent. You are the best of class.  That is the who you are professionally. Its the what you bring to the table. I challenge you to think about the communication part of equation. If you had excellent communication skills, paired with your professional competencies, how would your networking improve? How would your interviews and offers change? Would you have more career security, if you improved your communication skills? I bet you would. The rude, those that self-serve, and arent considerate, are likely those who have rough careers.  Not to say the nice guy always wins, but I bet the nice guy is a lot happier, and has a better and more fulfilling career, over time. Your bedside manner is a skill. improve it! How Is Your Bedside Manner (as a job seeker) At least one person that Im close to (okay, its my wife) can tell you that I have the tendency to be a grump old man. Apparently its becoming the normal.  But for a minute, while I write this post, Ill put that aside, and talk about other peoples grump. I recently heard about a dentist visit where the dentist was working with a child and said things to the mom that would have freaked out the child (who was already a bit freaked out).  Why didnt the dentist not say that until (a) he was done, and (b) he was alone with just the mom?  He had zero consideration for the state of mind his patient was in, and how unhelpful the conversation was. I also heard about a mechanic who treated a customer with impatience and downplayed the customers concerns. The customer went away frustrated, feeling unheard, and unresolved. There was the time when oh, you get the idea. Youve had bad customer service experiences also Im sure you could share your top five bad experiences. But thats not the point of this post. Lets contrast this to a recent experience I had at my local tire shop. For years Ive wondered why their customer service has gone down in the olden days (the 1900s) I remember pulling up and having someone on the crew run out to my car to see what I needed, before I even got out. That doesnt happen now, and hasnt for years. But recently I had a problem tire replaced. Or at least I tried to. I drove off without realizing they replaced the wrong one!  So, Monday morning, Im back at the shop and explained the problem, even saying Im not sure if I miscommunicated it, or the desk lady put the wrong thing in the computer, maybe it was my fault. But the problem is you didnt replace my bad tireand thats what I need fixed.  About 45 minutes later they called my name. The verdict? No charge, an apology, and now I have two new tires!  That is excellent customer service. No lecture, which was great bedside manner. Or, that same day I was in my office and noticed our internet service providers van pull up. He was supposed to come the following day but his schedule opened up and here he was could he fix our problem today instead of tomorrow?  Of course!  What followed was almost an hour of excellent dont worry, Ill find this and fix it, Ill get you back up to speed in no time!  There was no downtalking, no grumbling about his job he was cheerful and made us feel like he cared about us.  We felt awesome, and when he left, we had our problems fixed.  That was excellent service, and he had an excellent bedside manner. Now, lets relate that to you and your job search.  You are the provider of experience (even though you are closely observing everyone elses manner). You are the mechanic, the dentist, the tire guy. You have a chance to delight me, and make me feel special, or you can, with a simple look, tone, or word choice, make me feel unheard, unresolved, and not anxious to do more business with you. This impacts the results you get when you network. Do you help others feel comfortable with you, and recommending you? If not, check your bedside manner. This impacts your interviews. Are you going to be remembered as the jerk, or the person that would fit well on our team!? This even impacts your emails. If you have poor bedside manner you might find that people are put off by you, which means they might not want to recommend you, network with you, interview you, hire you, etc. I think there are two parts to this: Who you are, really. Where is your heart? Do you care about others, or what you are working on? Changing who you are might not be fair, but self-realization could help you understand why you are (or are not) getting the results you want. How you communicate. Communication is a skill. We all need to improve our communication and we can. We might not need or want to change who we are, but we can certainly learn and practice and improve our communication skills. The dentists job is to fix teeth. Its not to be the best communicator in the world. Id rather have a competent dentist who fixes my teeth problems than someone who doesnt know teeth but is an excellent communicator. But, the excellent communication skills can help a dentist have satisfied, fulfilled, delighted, happier patients. Better communication skills can help the dentist have better relationships with his/her staff, which means a better culture, less turnover (and cost), more loyalty, more job satisfaction, etc. Better communication skills, with excellent dentist skills, can help increase referrals, business, margins, etc. I assume that, whatever your profession is, you are competent. You can do the job. Some of you are excellent. You are the best of class.  That is the who you are professionally. Its the what you bring to the table. I challenge you to think about the communication part of equation. If you had excellent communication skills, paired with your professional competencies, how would your networking improve? How would your interviews and offers change? Would you have more career security, if you improved your communication skills? I bet you would. The rude, those that self-serve, and arent considerate, are likely those who have rough careers.  Not to say the nice guy always wins, but I bet the nice guy is a lot happier, and has a better and more fulfilling career, over time. Your bedside manner is a skill. improve it!

7 Habits of the Successfully Published, Part 1 Planning - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

7 Habits of the Successfully Published, Part 1 Planning - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Planning Your Way to Publishing Success Writing and publishing a book has been, and still is, the most effective and documented way individuals can build their personal brand of awareness, credibility, and respect. Books attract new business, pre-sell your credibility, and open doors of opportunity. Books are the ultimate business card. Whether youve recently graduated from college, work for someone else, or are entering the private sector after years of corporate employment, a published book provides you with a competitive edge that sets you apart from the competition and positions you as a trusted expert in your field. Butare you qualified to write a book? If youre like most people, you dont consider yourself a born writer. You may not have done well in English or Composition, and you may not consider yourself creative. But, thats OK! In this series of articles, Im going to show you why that your ability to write and publish a nonfiction book that builds your brand and takes your life to the next level actually has little in common with your ability to diagram sentences in grammar school, write essays in high school, and turn in term papers on time in college. Part 1: Planning your way to publishing and branding success Id like to start by emphasizing that planning, not the ability to write, is the key to successfully publishing a personal brand-building bookone that makes a major, positive, contribution to your career and to your business. Here are some of the ways that the hundreds of successfully published authors Ive interviewed use planning as their core book publishing strategy: Relevance. Planning is the key to writing a relevant book, one that your intended market will want to read. Publishing success is not so much a matter of how well you write or how much you know about your topic. Instead, publishing success is based on (1) identifying your targetthe readers you want to buy your book and recognize your expertise (2) analyzing and organizing information they need to solve their problems, and (3) providing enough of a solution to want your bookand any other products or services that you offer. Uniqueness. Planning involves analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of existing books in your field. Planning helps you identify the missing book, the book thats wanted, but hasnt been written yet. No publisher wants to publish a book that duplicates an existing book. Your goal is to create a books that offer a fresh perspective, new information, delivered in a concise, organized, and easily-implemented fashion. Efficiency. There are two ways that planning contributes to efficient writing and efficient book marketing promotion. A detailed content plan makes books easier to write by providing a road map to each days writing progress. Instead of the stress of beginning with a blank screen, a content plan provides you with the framework, or jump start, you need to begin each writing session. Easier to write translates also into faster to market, so you book can begin working for you as quickly as possible. Profitability. During my recent interview with Michael Port, author of the best-selling Book Yourself Solid, Michael described how he knewbefore he wrote his bookexactly how he was going to profit from it. Michaellike many other successfully published interview guestsknew that profits from book sales were never going to be a major component of his income stream. So, he planned his back-end firsthe prepared a business plan for his bookidentifying how he was going to profit from audios, videos, consulting, mastermind mentoring, speakingand wrote a book that would drive, and still drives, prospects and readers to his website. Marketing. Planning also saves you time after your book is published; your marketing content plan will help you recycle, re-use, and re-purpose ideas for your newsletters, blog posts, podcasts, social marketing, videos and weekly tips. In his interview, Michael reported that his book proposals arebasicallymarketing plans for his books. Book publishers are naturally risk adverse. They are looking for as much security and reinforcement as possible that they will not be saddled with a lot of unsold books. By describing, in detail, how he will promote each new title, Michael provides the necessary proof that his book will be a safe investment. And, because hes always done what hes promised in the past, getting published gets easier and easier because of the trust factor. Time management. Finding the time to write is the final way that planning contributes to a branded authors success. On a recent interview, Keith Rosen, one of Americas top executive coaches, made the statement that Time management plays a crucial role in an authors. Time management spells the difference between writing a book, or just dreaming about getting published. Time managementplanning your day around your priorities translates to the habits of daily writing, consistent marketing, and profitable prospect follow-up. Author: Roger C. Parker, as a “writer who understands design,” and a “designer who understands copy,” can help you create a marketing program based on these skills. Roger has a 20 year record of helping others successfully master and apply the latest technology to marketing challenges.

5 Reasons Why Your Employees Want to Leave

5 Reasons Why Your Employees Want to Leave Imagine being in a situation where that star employee that you cant imagine running your business without wants to leave. And youre sitting there thinking what have I done to allow this to happen? Retaining top talent is as important, if not more important, then attracting new talent. And top talent quit their jobs all the time for a number of different reasons, but more often than not, the reason they leave has a lot to do with their employer. Here are a few reasons why that might be. 1. Low Salary Were starting with the most obvious factor; Money. When youre offering an employee a salary that is below market standard, you better hope that you have a strong enough culture to keep them because more often than not that employee will want to leave. How to fix:  Money isnt always everything to your employees but I implore you to stay on top of the competition, or at least  stay at the same level to them, to keep your very best workers. 2. Lack of Opportunities Employees will always seek growth opportunities and that is especially true to the Millennials and Gen Zers you have in the workplace. Theres a sense of direction that comes into play when you have something to work for or something to gain. Not only this, but employees want to grow and develop their skills. If they are not able to grow, both in terms of their position nor their skills, then that might be the very reason youre losing some of your most promising employees. How to fix:  Its important you have set up constant dialogue with your employees to ensure they are happy, and that you have created an achievable path for them within the company. 3. Losing Meaning At times your employee might lose meaning and purpose for what he or she is doing. They will begin to ask themselves if they are really contributing to something meaningful. To something that is actually bigger than themselves. Meaningfulness is very often hard to define, thats why its important your leaders continue to communicate your companys mission to your employees, and what exact part they play within it. In many ways, it is your job to connect your employees to the Why in Why do I work here?. How to fix:  Ask your employees questions such as: What inspires you to work? What makes you happy? How does our purpose make you feel? From this, you can form a baseline of understanding of what makes them tick and then facilitate a sense of meaning and purpose from this. 4. Lack of Autonomy How many times do we tell employees that they will be their own boss, that they will have all the autonomy in the world to do their work and drive the business forward? But in the process of doing so, were still monitoring and micro-managing their every move. Imagine having what is already very stressful role, coupled with the bickering and scolding of your manager on a daily basis. Doesnt sound great, does it? How to fix: Give your employees control. If an employee has a stressful job  but has a certain degree of control over their work, it would help alleviate the negative emotions they might feel. This is because while an employee might feel stressed at work, there is a genuine sense of accomplishment that comes out because the company put their trust in that employee. 5. Lack of Appreciation Or should I say lack of love? I think all employees want to feel confident in what they are doing but also within that they want to be appreciated and valued. For example: Working in a poor physical environment Being treated disrespectfully or ignored by their manager Being paid unequally to their colleagues There are tons of different ways an employee might feel unsupported by their company, and the larger the organization is, the worse this problem becomes. How to fix:  Create an environment of transparent communication between all levels of employees, and a system in place to ensure that managers are having a conversation with each and every one of their employees on a daily basis. Its important to note that these five factors are not the sole reasons your employees quit, but more often than not one of these factors plays a major role in their decision to leave. If you are able to keep appreciation, meaning, salary, independence, and opportunities in mind when thinking about each and every one of your employees, then you will more often then not retain the employees you have lost to in the past.

How to be a Great Manager - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How to be a Great Manager - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Great managers are inspirational leaders who have a clear vision of the future and achieved significant success in their fields. A great manager also needs to inspire others for greatness and knows how to motivate them to be better at what they are doing. All of the employees want to work with a great manager since they know that their manager will help them excel in what they are doing and as a result, they can get promoted. Below are some tips that will help you become a great manager that everybody wants to work with: 1.  Be Clear in Your Communication: If you want to be a great manager, you have to always be transparent when communicating with your employees. Even if the news are bad, you should still clearly talk with your employees and explain them what is going on within the company. Create time to listen to your employees’ concerns and do your best to solve them. Keep an open channel of communication and get their feedback when necessary. 2.  Set Goals: As a manager, you are responsible whether your employees know their roles and responsibilities. It is also your job to set them clear goals. Clearly explain what you expect from a task, the deadline of the task and the importance of the task for the company. This will help the employee have a clear understanding of his/her role within the firm and keep him/her focused. 3.  Assign the Right Tasks to the Right People: You become a manager because you are successful at what you are doing but that doesn’t mean that you should do everything. You have employees to help you reach goals. However, you should teach them how to do certain tasks. You cannot expect them to know everything right away. Therefore, start small. Give them smaller tasks first and as they get comfortable, you can give them tasks with more responsibility. Also, when they are working on smaller tasks, you can have a chance to understand their strengths and weaknesses so as you get to know your employees better, you can start assigning the right tasks to the right people. 4.  Lead People Not Manage Them: Nobody likes to be micro-managed. Instead they prefer someone who will motivate them and lead them towards a goal. If you notice that the performance of one of your employees is weaker than others, give him/her constructive feedback so s/he can also improve her/himself. On the other hand, if another employee has a great performance, appreciate his/her work. Let your employees know that you care for them.

How to Write a Resume Like a Super Hero

How to Write a Resume Like a Super HeroDo you think it's easy to write a resume? Like a Superman, your resume is going to be flying in the sky because you are going to be called upon to perform an awesome feat.It will be like performing a spectacular task. But you'll do it right and by doing it right, your future career will go much faster. The way to do this is to learn some simple tips to make sure that you can write a resume like a superhero.In order to excel in any field, you need to have special traits. You must have certain qualities that can help you get ahead of the competition. This is the reason why you should take the time to look at your resume to get certain qualities that will make it stand out above the rest. What do you think is a good thing to look for? You should not be short of self-confidence.All the things that are common in other resumes will also be present in yours. And the fact that you have taken the time to write it means that you believe in yourself. But y ou'll be focusing on some of the most important things in your resume. A resume will tell the future employer about your capabilities and how you can contribute to the company. A resume will also tell the future employer how effective you are when it comes to communication skills.You need to emphasize your student accomplishments. It shows that you're serious about your studies and you do not easily give up once you graduate. A writing that you must always have on hand is an essay.Know how to take care of yourself. You cannot afford to have a bad day. And if you are prone to bouts of anxiety, then it would be best to wear a neck brace. Remember that you are the boss.Your only time for rest is when you sleep. Your resume is your greatest weapon. So if you see any opportunities that could prove beneficial to you, make sure that you act on them immediately.Even though it's a job interview, you don't have to sound so confident. You need to seem that you are just as nervous as he is.

Do job satisfaction surveys do anything - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Do job satisfaction surveys do anything - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I am thoroughly skeptical about job satisfaction surveys. Many, many workplaces do them but I have yet to see a convincing example or case where such a survey helped a company pinpoint and fix one or more issues so that employees became more satisfied as a result. But I may be wrong. It wouldnt exactly be the first time :o) So my question to you is this: What is your experience with job satisfaction surveys? Have you seen them help in your workplace? How did you do it and how did it help? Or has your workplace also done them with very little show for it? Write a comment below, Id love to know what you think about employee satisfaction surveys. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

You Got the Job Offer - Time for Negotiation! - Jane Jackson Career

You Got the Job Offer - Time for Negotiation! - Jane Jackson Career Negotiation TechniquesOne of the most rewarding aspects of being a career transition coach is when a client lands a job.   It’s even more rewarding when that client’s job offer is for the ‘dream’ job. Sometimes, if theyve been seeking a new role for a long time, they are tempted to say, Yes! right away without thinking about negotiation. However, its important to consider the offer and whether there is room for negotiation before accepting any offer.With the number of professionals ‘in transition’ due to outsourcing, restructure, downsizing, off shoring, etc and the transition process taking considerably longer than most people wish, the temptation to say, “Yes!” right away is strong.I would suggest that you express your enthusiastic ‘thank you’ and ask for a little time to consider the details.   Whatever you hear from the person who made you the offer will always sounds better than it actually is when you are, at that moment, in a state of excitement at being †˜The One.’   Remember that you are in the strongest position to negotiate when the offer is on the table.   Before you sign.   Once you are an employee you will have less leverage.   Asking for at least 24 hours to consider the offer and go over the letter of offer and contract is perfectly acceptable.If you are confident of your abilities and your value add to the organization, there could be room to maneuver with the compensation package.   Of course, that is assuming that you want to accept the offer.   It that is the case, let’s see if you can improve upon it.Sometimes we doubt our ability, if you need a boost of self-confidence to stay on track to achieve your goals, How to Build Confidence is the online course for you.   Check it out hereIf you are dealing directly with the Hiring Manager and HR this is your opportunity to plan your negotiation strategy yourself.   If you are going through a search firm consultant or recruitment agent then you will need them to negotiate o n your behalf.   The more senior your role the more variables there may be to negotiate in the Package.Doing It YourselfIn order to justify that you are worth more than the existing offer on the table, you need to be clear about your relevant skills, experience and expertise as well as what you can offer in this role â€" the type of contribution you can make that will be of value.Make sure you are specific with the benefits you bring.   A reminder of your past accomplishments is always helpful when negotiating.   You won’t get more just because you want it, you may get more because you deserve it.Doing It Through a Search ConsultantIt’s important to have a good relationship with your recruiter.   Throughout the entire process the recruiter is on your side (and the side of others he/she may have put forward for the same role) however once you have an offer on the table, the recruiter will want the best deal for you (it will become a better deal for them too.)The recruiter is the middleman in this process, the messenger.   Make sure your recruiter is fully briefed on your accomplishments and your value-add to the organization so that he/she can sell you for an improved offer.What to NegotiateOnce you have the offer in writing then you can analyse what needs to be negotiated.   Most people don’t look past the base salary.Consider all aspects of the package that are important to you. These can include your job title, salary, incentive bonus, sign on bonus, paid holiday, phone, car, stock options, provision of outplacement should redundancy occur, relocation costs, accommodation if relocation overseas is required, etc.   In the case of an expatriate package if you are to work overseas, there will be even more to discuss (school fees, club memberships, home leave.)One of my past clients successfully negotiated an additional 5 days paid leave per year even though the company did not budge on anything else.   If he hadn’t made the request he would never have k nown there was this leeway.   If there is little room to move on the offer then ask for an early performance review or shortened probationary period after which a salary review will occur if you meet or exceed your KPI’s.   This will give you time to prove your worth to the organization and management may be more open to this compromise.Open Negotiations and Make it a Win-Win SituationOnce you have considered the offer in writing and planned what you wish to negotiate (consider what is most important to you first, then the other few items that are more a ‘nice to have’ than a make or break situation.)     Decide what is your ‘walk away’ point and whether you will accept the offer even if negotiation is not possible.Make contact, express your enthusiasm about the company and your appreciation of the offer, and then mention that there are a couple of items you’d like to discuss. Ask if there room for negotiation.   If they are interested in what you would like to discuss t hen set a meeting, face to face, to conduct the negotiation.   Negotiations are always easier in person as you can read the body language and gauge how far you can go.You are not going in to do battle when negotiating.   You are looking for a win-win for both parties.   You want to be adequately compensated for a job well done; they want to get value for money.If you improve upon the original offer, congratulations!   I wish you much success in your job search, your new role and an exciting and challenging new career.Id love to hear your experiences so drop a comment below.If youd like a chat about how coaching will help you get over the tough stuff and get a job, book an exploratory conversation today