Tag Archives: business coach Margaret Smith
February 22, 2017 5 Tips for Job Hunting While Working Your Current Job
It’s a common story. You desperately want a new job, but because of financial constraints, you’re unable to quit your current one and start searching. What do you do?
The simple answer is, of course, you have to search for a new job while you’re still working your current one. But that isn’t always easy. How do you balance your time between everyday work and job hunting? How do you field calls from potential employers? Or dash out for an interview? How do you maintain a positive attitude and a good work ethic, even when you want to get the heck outta dodge?
Great questions! Here are 5 tips for effectively job hunting while working your current job:
1. Respect your current job (and company)
First and foremost, don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re still employed by your current company. That means you still have to do your work and do it to the best of your ability. It also means that you should limit job hunting to your lunch break or to times when you’re not at work (before work, after work, on weekends). Consider taking a day off every now and then and dedicate it to job hunting.
REMEMBER: A future potential employer may call your current boss down the road. You don’t want to be remembered as a slacker!
ALSO REMEMBER: Every skill you build in your current position can only help you in the job hunt. Use that as motivation as you plow forward!
2. Set deadlines for yourself
Make goals and commit to achieving them. You might want to apply for a certain number of jobs each week or set aside an hour each day for job searching/applying.
3. Invest in your future
Job hunting may seem overwhelming, especially if you haven’t done it in a while. Think about taking an online course in effect job hunting, or enlist the help of a career coach. Career coaches, such as myself, specialize in résumé editing, cover letter writing, job search tactics, and interviewing best practices. Your job hunt doesn’t have to be a solo endeavor!
4. Set boundaries
When applying for jobs, make your availability clear. Let recruiters know that you will only take a call outside of normal working hours (or during your lunch break). If you have a separate home phone, give the recruiter that number.
And emails? Reply to any job hunt-related emails during lunch or during a designated break. Otherwise, reply after work. Most recruiters understand job applicants’ constraints and it is acceptable to let recruiters know that you’d like to remain discreet.
One other thing related to setting boundaries: Try not to get your coworkers involved. While it may be tempting to tell others about your job hunt, be careful who you divulge information to. Office gossip can spread quickly!
5. Network with care
If you attend a job fair, you run the risk of bumping into someone you know. If you update your LinkedIn profile to say “Seeking a new position,” you really run the risk of being exposed. What to do?
According to Liz Ryan of Forbes magazine, “Your best bet as a stealth job seeker is to network one-on-one with people you already know, and to allow or encourage the folks you already know to introduce you to other people — friends and colleagues of theirs.” Personal references are one of the best ways to find a new job, rather than taking your chances at a job fair.
Remember to be tactful, respect your current job, and set a regular job-hunting schedule. And don’t let your search distract you from doing the best work you can do right now. Best of luck with your hunt!
Do you have other questions about job hunting while still working your current job? Please post them in the comments section below or, if you’d like to remain confidential, please feel free to contact me.
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: business coach Margaret Smith, Career Coach Advice, career coach Margaret Smith, Job Hunt Advice, Job hunt tips, job hunt while working current job, job search advice, new job hunt, tips for job hunting
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- Posted under Goals, Tips for the Job Hunt
February 8, 2017 Hey you! Look up from your phone! (Improving modern communication)
Technology can be a wonderful thing. It helps us connect people from across the country (or world) through a video conference or virtual chat. It allows us to easily create charts and map out data. It allows us to better serve our customers.
But there is a dark side to technology. It’s the side that affects our everyday interactions with people—the side that completely sucks us in and tethers us to our devices.
Have you ever walked into a restaurant and noticed friends, couples, or even entire families absorbed in their smart phones? Or noticed people out for a walk, with their heads buried in their devices?
Are you guilty of this too? Do you catch yourself shooting your co-worker an email when you could just walk to her office and ask a quick question? Do you find yourself flipping through social media or the news or weather instead of engaging those around you in conversation?
Yes, technology does great things, but it’s also killing our communication skills. According to MIT sociologist Sherry Turkle, author of the book Reclaiming Conversation, our deep absorption in our devices has caused us to lose our ability to have deeper, more spontaneous conversations with others. We begin to lose our capacity for “empathy, introspection, creativity, and intimacy.”[1]
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, I think about the implications this has for our relationships. Are our conversations lacking the depth they used to have? Are we missing opportunities to look others in the eye and truly connect with them?
Looking at it from another angle, are we missing opportunities at work because we’ve greatly reduced the number of face-to-face interactions we have with others? Sherry Turkle says YES. She points to many studies that indicate that when people are allowed to talk to each other, they do better—they’re more collaborative, they’re more creative, they get more done.
And what about networking? I’ve talked with many people who say that the younger generation has difficulty with face-to-face networking. It’s a skill that doesn’t come easily for them because so many of their interactions are digital. That’s troubling because, according to Hubspot, 85% of people say they build stronger, more meaningful business relationships during in-person business meetings and conferences.
Face-to-face still matters!
It’s time we stop multi-tasking, set our cell phones aside, and rediscover meaningful conversation with others. Our relationships—both personal and professional—will be better for it.
[1] Suttie, J. (December 7, 2015). How Smartphones Are Killing Conversation. The Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley. http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_smartphones_are_killing_conversation. Accessed 12/19/16.
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: better communication, business coach Margaret Smith, improve communication, improve interaction, improve networking skills, Margaret Smith life coach, networking and communication, Technology and communication, technology damaging communication
January 25, 2017 Increase Your Sales by Focusing on This ONE Thing
If you’re in sales, you know that it’s difficult to pull in a new client or buyer. Whether you’re in retail or insurance, it isn’t always easy to convince a potential customer to pull the trigger and make the purchase. This fear of rejection is probably the thing that’s holding you back from ONE easy thing that will increase your sales exponentially: upselling.
Upselling might sound like an ugly word (you might think of a car salesperson saying “But for only $40 more each month, we’ll throw in a…”), but there is a way to do it tactfully and honestly. Upselling involves introducing an improvement or an upgrade. You might upgrade to a faster laptop, a more powerful fishing boat motor, or a more durable set of kitchen knives.
I certainly don’t advocate selling a customer something that they genuinely don’t need. When you upsell (or cross-sell, which involves introducing a relevant but different product), do it with the customer’s needs at the center of your mind.
Why upsell? For one, upselling works 20 times better than cross-selling. Once potential buyers are fixated on a product, they don’t really want to be distracted by something else.
Secondly, your customer might not be aware of the benefits of upgrading to a different model. They might not realize, for instance, that a kitchen pan that’s $10 more than the one they are currently considering is known to last three times as long and tends to cook food more evenly.
Third, if your customer is already interested in a product, it doesn’t hurt to introduce them to a better model (again, if you genuinely think they would benefit from it). You’re already making the sale, why not make a better sale?
So, how can you tactfully and honestly incorporate upselling in your sales game? Try these five tips:
1. Arm yourself with knowledge.
If a customer is interested in a certain type of camera, for instance, be prepared to tell them about their full range of options and why the next model up is better. Anticipate questions and be prepared with candid answers.
2. Listen.
Be sure to listen carefully to your customer’s needs before trying to upsell. It could be that a bigger, better product is not necessary for this particular person.
3. Make it easy.
If you’re in a retail setting, make sure the best products are prominently visible on the sales floor and easy to access for a demonstration. Customers should be able to easily tell the difference between a base model and the souped-up version.
4. Honesty is key.
Don’t fudge the facts. Don’t push a sale that won’t benefit the customer. Your potential buyers are usually savvy enough to see through an act and, if they’re not, they will wise up quickly once they realize that the product you sold them doesn’t fit their needs at all. Do you think they’ll send any friends or family members to you after that?
5. Be confident.
Upsell with confidence. You should be proud of the products you sell and stand by their worth. Let that confidence shine! (And if you’re not confident about the products you’re selling, it may be time to start hunting for another sales position!)
Try incorporating upselling into your sales strategy and see where it will take you. It’s the easiest way to increase your sales and demonstrate the full range of product opportunities to your customers. What’s holding you back?
For more in-depth sales advice and career counseling, please get in touch with Margaret today.
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
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Tags: business coach Margaret Smith, cross-selling practices, honest sales, improve sales, Listening, Margaret Smith sales, sell tactfully and honestly, trick to improving sales, upselling practices, You Excel Now coaching
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- Posted under Better Business, Discussions, Sales
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