May 2010

Another bank holiday, isn't it lovely having a long weekend. The weather in the UK was a bit grim but for me it was a great time to catch up with family.

I've now got a new personal trainer, I'd got on very well with Ben, but he is on long term sick so I needed to maintain my progress and I'm now working with Emma. A different approach and I'm really enjoying it, I'm still doing a lot of weights but I'm now doing more cardio. I'm now at a 4.5 stone loss (since October) but I must admit it is getting harder to stay focused, 29 weeks working towards a goal .. but even though I've had the occasional glass of wine etc, I've no intention of slipping back into old ways.

It's the same with looking for a new job. It's easy to get distracted and lose a sense of focus, so get clear on what you do want, head in the right direction and if you struggle get yourself someone to help you, like I have Emma.

I have now had to register for VAT so unfortunately I've had to increse my fees, I've split the difference so most have gone up by 10% and some prices are unchanged.

I now have 2208 subscribers as of today, and I'm really pleased to have you all here. I write this newsletter to be interesting, so do get in touch with any ideas for future issues.

Sometimes I don't hear from clients after I've finished work with them.  I used to wonder if I had done a good enough job, I always want to do the best possible and anything less than raving fans used to feel like a failure. I realise that's not true, and people are too busy to take time to write a thank you letter. Over the past couple of weeks I've been contacted by two ex clients, one I worked with 9 years ago, another one almost 6 years ago. Both told me how valuable the work was that we had done and I'm now doing some more work with the first one.

In this months issue:

• Article 1:How to raise your profile at work
• Article 2: If you lose your job
• Books by Denise
• Connect with me on Linked In
• In the media in April
• Twitter
• What Denise did last month
• In the Blog

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you would like to discuss working with me or if you have any suggestions for my newsletter.

I look forward to talking to you again next time.

Kindest regards,

Article1: How to raise your profile at work

Too many people do a good job, but don't let people know

When you get some positive written feedback from others be sure to keep it, and circulate the feedback to more senior people. If you get verbal feedback, ask for it to be put in writing. Don't hide your light: let people know what a great job you have done.
 

You may be doing a good job, but is this really what matters to your boss?

Talk to your boss and find out what is important to them, then make sure you are able to deliver. You want to exceed his or her expectations. Could you draft a report, find out about a topic or create or improve a system that will really make a difference?

Look broader than your role

Make it your business to find out more about the other departments and business units. Don't have a silo mentality. Don't just do your job but look around and understand the bigger picture. Keep listening to background chat. You might hear about some upcoming changes in the organisation, the hidden agenda of what is really going on or the personal thoughts of the person at the top. Also, read the financial press to see if any company details are being leaked to the press or get a first sniff of an acquisition or merger. This sort of information can help you to sound more knowledgeable than others on a topic and you can use it to make a suggestion that ties in with the company direction. When you go for promotion people expect you to be doing a good job in your current role. What they want is someone who can identify broader challenges and this will help.

Keep your boss informed

Our bosses are not always aware of what we have done so keep a book with copies of the positive feedback received and also details of what you have achieved through your job - this will really help at appraisal time. For most bosses, managing our careers is not their priority, so make it easy for them to provide a good write up by proving examples.

Read more >>

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Have you contacted Denise??

I accidentally deleted my folder with all enquiries about working with me. So if you have not had a reply, or were expecting me to follow up, I'm sorry but I've lost all details so please get back in touch.

Article 2: If you lose your job

You hope it won’t happen to you, but how can you best deal with the situation if you find your job being made redundant. Award winning career coach Denise Taylor shares some sound thinking.

1: Recognise it will be an emotional time for many
Loss of a job is up there, along with divorce or the loss of a spouse or close relative, so expect to have feelings of disappointment and loss.

You are highly likely to feel sad so take the time to express those feelings – it could be sadness, shock, disappointment, shame, resentment, and anger. Look for ways to let those feelings out or they will fester inside of you. Exercise can often be a good option to take, so go to the gym or out for a brisk walk. You could even considering kicking a cardboard box to release those negative feelings.

2: Don’t take it personally
Redundancy is more likely to be due to budget cuts and a lack of business rather than poor performance.

3: Think about what you want to do in the short and medium term
You need to review your CV and think about what jobs are likely to become available. In the current economic climate, no matter how great you are as an estate agent or banker, if there aren’t the jobs available what are you going to do?

For many who didn’t get a lot of job satisfaction out of their job, this can be seen as an opportunity, perhaps not initially, but in time.

4: Think about how you will spend your day
When you were working it gave you structure to your day, so how will you spend your day.

If you want a new job, this must be where you focus your time.  Looking for jobs on line, but also being proactive – meeting up with people, doing research and getting support from a career counsellor, any and all of these things will help to speed up the process of getting a new job.

Read more >>

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Connect with me on Linked In

Linked In is essential for job hunters, and I am planning to do an online seminar on this over the next few weeks, I know I said this last month but just not had the time ... In the mean time if you are on Linked In do please connect with me, and if we have worked together I'd appreciate a recommendation.

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I’ve set up a business page on Face Book. I’ve got my personal Face Book account, but thought it was time to separate business from personal stuff. This has been really new to me – learning how to do it, and thinking what I can do to be helpful for my ‘fans.' I'm now at 113 fans and put links from here to articles on my blog, plus other business related thoughts.

In the Media in April

• 14 April, 3 Counties Radio - Should children work/ paper boy being exploited with Jonathan Vernon-Smith
• PR Moment, Behind the story - How old is too old in PR, 30th April
• Business Spotlight, English language magazine for German readers, quoted on pages 52 and 54 in the March/April edition- End and Beginning, dealing with job loss
• The Scotsman, quoted on 13th April- Need a new job? Forget the ads – join a gym or Facebook
• Esquire, quoted in the April edition - Write a winning CV, 8 tips
• Article on Preparing for an Assessment Centre featured on Job Site

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Twitter

Here are a few of my interesting tweets - why not check them out? And why not 'follow me' on twitter or book mark this link so you can keep up to date with interesting short links

• I've accidentally deleted my folder of client enquiries in Outlook, so if you haven't had a reply, please recontact me.
• Such a very hard time at the gym - an hour of cardio, nearly collapsed
• DalaiLama In our human life, tolerance is very important, it helps you overcome difficulties. Without it, tiny things irritate you and you overreact.
• A man as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with - a man is what he makes of himself - Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor
• real ginger in hot water is so much nicer than a lemon & ginger tea bag

http://twitter.com/amazingpeople

What Denise did last month

• Did 2 days assessing for The Cabinet Office. I'm a Fast Stream Assessor
• Undertook 31 client sessions, including interview coaching, helping clients discover their ideal career, and helping 3 young people make decisions for A levels and future careers
• Wrote 15 entries on my blog
• Wrote lots of Tweets
• Undertook development work for Zoom Interviews
• Gave away a free book to a fan on my facebook page

In the Blog

http://www.amazingpeople.co.uk/blog/

You can subscribe to the feed using this link:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/AmazingPeopleBlog

Here's a selection from what was on the Blog in April

• Gordon Brown’s gaffe and the lessons for us all
• Carpe Diam: How to seize the day
• Career Coaching Question – I want to work in fashion
• Can you be yourself at work – will this lead on to a satisfying career? Views from the career coach
• A data diet and clearing clutter
• Is a degree worth it? or does it lead to the disillusioned generation?
• 8 Ways to stay positive during job search