Introduction: Work and Life balance is a process, not an outcome. The stressful situation of trying to balance life and work changes constantly and there is no single formula for attaining a balanced life. The key is to develop creative solutions as you approach the challenges of balancing the responsibilities and joys of your multiple roles. Some of the same skills and strategies you use at work; such as planning, organizing, communicating, setting limits and delegating can be used effectively on the home-front for achieving a satisfying, fulfilling well-balanced life both personally and professionally. Balancing your life is like a juggling act. Work, home, family, and the never-ending errands will continue. (more...)

Recruiters, Search Consultants, and Headhunters What is a Recruiter? If you are considering a career move, a resource you may wish to consider is a recruiter. Recruiters, sometimes referred to as head-hunters or search consultants, are independent consultants engaged by client companies to locate qualified candidates for professional positions within the client company. They do not charge a fee to the job seeker. Fees are paid by their client company. Recruiting or search agencies are not the same as Employment Agencies or Career Counselors or Outplacement Agencies. 1. Employment agencies assist candidates in finding a new job and may charge the candidate for their services. 2. Career counselors are engaged by job seekers to professionally prepare for and conduct a successful job search that is useful and works. Their services may include skills assessment, personality testing, and career guidance counseling. Fees for their services are paid by the job seeker. (more...)

The purpose of the telephone call is simply to set up an appointment! When phoning, be as presentable in dress and demeanor as you would be in person. Otherwise, you place yourself in an inferior position to the person you are calling. Always identify yourself before speaking. Speak in an enthusiastic manner. Techniques: Keep a script of what you want to say in front of you. If you get thrown off track by some unexpected question or reaction, it will be relatively easy to recover when you have your thoughts written out. Of course, they have to be adapted to meet the individual situation, plan to proceed as follows: The Secretary: It is important to establish rapport with the secretary or receptionist, who is a facilitator and valuable business contact. When talking to the Executive’s Secretary be firm and positive, without seeming to appear arrogant. If you seem hesitant or unsure of yourself, you may be put on the defensive and your chances of getting to talk to the person you are calling are minimized, expect to get through and to get the interview. (more...)

Valuable News Trends to Help You Succeed in the Workplace Older Workers Continue On: It’s been said that some things simply get better with age, whether it is a vintage car or a fine wine. The same can be said about today’s older workers and job applicants – many of whom choose to remain in the workforce far past what had formerly been the expected retirement age. And many of these experienced workers make interesting choices, whether it is to take on consulting roles, explore entrepreneurial options, or leave their current title and industry behind entirely. Age biases do still exist, although the question of age becomes less of a factor to build a strong workforce. Companies are beginning to realize that while younger, less experienced employees may initially seem more cost-effective, it is more likely that younger workers will change jobs more frequently to build their careers while older workers may stay with the company longer. Therefore, the idea to stock your workforce with younger employees may not be the best bet in terms of a retention strategy.” (more...)

• Job Search Realities
• Marketing and Branding Yourself
• Networking and Building Relationships
• Information Meetings
• Market Plan Design Interviewing: The Hidden Agenda
• The Job Interview Negotiations
• Your One Minute Script
• The Successful Job Hunt

Jam packed with useful tools and effective job search approaches. Explore the hidden job market to find the Right Job for You! Instruction: Marge Powers, Career and NLP Life Coach 6 hour Saturday Workshop Session – includes a 48 Page Guidebook Why: Our passion is to teach you the powerful tools that get the job! When: On Saturday: April 25, 2009 – 10:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. Bring your lunch 1885 The Alameda, Suite 115, San Jose, CA.95126 Parking is in the back of the building

Top 10 Thoughts We’re Really Thinking When We Procrastinate and Feel Stuck If you don’t stay ahead of it, procrastination and feeling stuck are insidious little varmints that scuttle around the baseboards of life, contaminating your best intentions. These little saboteurs love to perch on top of your to-do list, gloating, knowing full well who’s Boss. For twenty years I’ve been coaching people how to defeat their own self-defeating behaviors, especially feeling stuck in procrastination. Clients ask why they sabotage themselves, and why they can’t seem to follow through. (more...)

Do you feel that someone is continually taking advantage of you? Do you seem to have to fight aggressively? Do you know how to win and get the resources you need? Do you struggle to get what you want from people whose help you need, but over whom you have little direct authority? If so, you may need to brush up your win-win negotiation skills. Effective negotiation helps you to resolve situations where what you want conflicts with what someone else wants. The aim of win-win negotiation is to find a solution that is acceptable to both parties, and leaves both parties feeling that they’ve won, in some way. There are different styles of negotiation, depending on circumstances. For instance: (more...)

It’s tough out there. Ask anyone looking for a job in nearly any field, and they’ll be able to recite a long list of challenges that job-seekers face on a daily basis. Companies are closing or suspending hiring for the foreseeable future, competition for open positions has never been fiercer and the outlook for the nation’s economy hasn’t been this bleak in generations. Now more than ever, job hunters need to be resourceful in their efforts to secure gainful employment and few websites offer more of these resources than LinkedIn. Why should you add LinkedIn to your job-seeking toolbox? Here are some very good reasons: (more...)

Your gremlins: Your gremlins (the committee) are your Inner Bully, the continuous narrator in your head. They have influenced you since you came into this world, and follow you throughout your life. They are with you when you wake up in the morning and when you go to sleep at night. They tell you who and how you are, and tries to define and interpret your every experience mostly with a negative viewpoint. They want you to accept its interpretations as reality, and their goal is to always squelch the natural, vibrant you within. They want you to believe that they have your best interests at heart and that their primary purpose is to serve and protect you. The committee’s motive is actually less honorable—they are intent on making you miserable. Your gremlins want you to feel bad and it carries out this loathsome pursuit by: (more...)

Politics is a fact of organizational life! So why not concentrate on the positive political techniques? Acknowledge and accept its existence and impact on your work. Politics is the way we get things done at work—it is individuals and teams competing for resources, responsibility, power, position and privileges. Because those things define our success, getting them will determine whether or not we are dong a good job at playing the political game. The way to get money, resources, project approvals and all of the other factors that define success is to become effective at office politics. That does not mean playing dirty as in negative politics. It means building relationships, being diplomatic, collaborating with others, being an effective team player in a modern work environment that is more complex, and dynamic than ever before. (more...)