How Do I Stop Caring What Other People Think

“How Do I Stop Caring What Other People Think” Help from our Community “How Do I Stop Caring What Other People Think?” * Tania's job is secure, comfortable, and making her miserable. She's facing a clear choice â€" the stable route or taking a risk â€" but the cacophony of opinions she's hearing from others is making her doubt herself. How do you listen to your own voice, when others speak so loud? What's your career history and current job? I've worked as a lawyer for nine years, since I graduated from law school. I currently work for a private practice. How do you feel about your work? There are positives to working for a private practice: the salary, the prestige. I enjoy drafting documents and analysing problems to come up with practical solutions. I like the teamwork and getting positive feedback. However, unless you're looking to progress to being a partner, which I've no interest in, there aren't really any senior opportunities. I find that if I'm too busy and bill a lot of hours, I feel miserable. I also feel miserable if I'm not busy enough and I'm not meeting my billable hours. I dislike having to explain how long I've spent on my different tasks, especially when I've no interest in the subject matter (financial products and regulation). What would you like to be doing instead? I'm considering a few options. Longer term, I'd like to do something I'm passionate about, maybe in the performing arts, in creative writing, or teaching piano to kids; I'm not 100% sure yet. Right now, my struggle is to do with crafting a stable route that will allow me to figure that out. I have no mortgage or family obligations at the moment, and have savings enough to last me at least a year or two without working. However, my boyfriend and I do want to buy a house and start a family at some point. He's very supportive of my career change, but I don't want to let him down, which could happen if I take a risk and end up financially worse off. The most stable route would be to stay where I am because it's secure and comfortable. My current boss is wonderful, so maybe it's a case of 'better the devil you know'. At least here I know what it is I'm doing each day, I've a team I can work with and respect from my colleagues, so at least I'm in a position of security from where I can explore my options. That's what stopped me leaving to date. I could also move into a bank or a corporatefirm where I could work in-house as a lawyer, which isn't as risky. That could kick-start my change mentality so that I'm prepared for an even bigger change once I eventually figure out what that would look like, but I'd be starting over working for someone else and I'm not sure if I'm agile enough for that. Maybe I should try it out and eliminate it as an option. At least there wouldn't be the pressure of becoming a partner in an in-house role and it might be a good challenge for me. The riskier route would be to become a legal contractor. I would hope I could then negotiate a day off a week that would allow me to think more deeply about what I want to do in terms of a bigger, long-term career change. Lawyers are by their nature, risk averse, so the least risky option to which I'm drawn is to move into an in-house legal position in a bank or a corporate. But I'm not passionate about this; it's more a case of sticking with what I can do. What's the biggest obstacle in your way? I'm heavily influenced by what other people think. I've asked so many people about whether I should stay in my current job and make the most of it being a comfortable position, so that I can put my energy into exploring my options. I've spoken to other lawyers about whether contracting is the right way to go. They say that would be a crazy thing to do because I'd be giving up a steady salary for less money and less prestigious work. Friends and colleagues keep telling me how hard it is to get a job as an in-house lawyer. Their advice is that if I do get an in-housejob offer, I should take the job no matter what, which sounds pretty desperate to me. I'm still unsure about what will be right for me in terms of helping me move towards the bigger career change that I feel is on the horizon at some point. There's an unspoken rule that you leave a private practice law firm to get an in-house job within threeto sevenyears of qualifying. After that, you're considered too expensive or too senior for most of the roles out there. I'm in that post-qualification window at the moment. Even though whatever people say shouldn't be as important as what I believe is important to me, it's a psychological hurdle I'm struggling to overcome. How do I find the headspace to figure out what I want to do, rather than what everyone else thinks is a good idea? Can you help Tania? Have you been in a similar situation, or are you in the same boat right now? How do you think Tania could move her shift forwards? Do you know anyone she could talk to? Share your thoughts in the comments below and click the thumbs-up button to show your support.

Why We Should Be Encouraging More Girls to Take Engineering Degrees

Why We Should Be Encouraging More Girls to Take Engineering Degrees The nature of post-secondary education requires ample time, concentration and â€" unfortunately â€" money. Because of the financial struggles that so many young people face, along with social stigmas and other hurdles, female educational attainment rates have lagged those of males for most of recorded history. In recent years, however, weve seen a surge in female enrollment in colleges and universities, with females comprising a majority of college attendees for the first time ever. There are still some areas where males dominate with respect to obtaining degrees: the world of engineering is one of them. Yet engineering is a rewarding career and one that more young girls should consider as a valuable career path. Today, well discuss why more girls should consider pursuing these engineering degrees. A Massive Shortage of Engineers When one gender is far more likely to study engineering than the other, it seems like a no-brainer to correct that problem considering that there is a massive shortage of engineers. Whether somebody earns an online masters in engineering or attends a more traditional college setting, the need for those employees is crucial. In the coming years, countless millions of jobs in engineering and comparable fields will become necessary â€" yet were on track to suffer from an even greater shortage of engineers than exists today. Ultimately, encouraging more girls to take engineering degrees is not just a moral argument: its an economic argument. An End to Stigmas and Stereotypes The result of decades and centuries of firmly held gender norms, careers that require a combination of professional behavior and analytical minds continue to lag in terms of gender parity. These reinforced stereotypes deserve to be challenged and one of the best ways to do so is to level the playing field with respect to who works in which occupations. With no evidence to suggest that men make better engineers than women, it only seems right to encourage more females to pursue careers in an industry with ample job security and excellent pay. Rather than encouraging our daughters to pursue careers that may be in line with what their ancestors pursued, we should encourage them to pursue careers where theyll uncover their greatest potential. A Great and Stable Future The combination of facts mentioned above highlights why engineering is such a great field to encourage more girls to pursue. Not only is there a huge demand for engineers in the current climate â€" which guarantees job security â€" but engineers are some of the best-paid professionals. It is rare for an established engineer to earn less than six figures in his or her occupation, meaning that the role of each engineer in a given occupation is both valued and necessary. The desire for humans to feel needed in their occupation is stronger than many may realize; engineers definitely feel needed based on both their compensation and the respect they garner in the workforce. We need more girls to pursue masters of engineering online and offline degrees for a number of reasons. First, it makes economic sense in a world where engineers are in short supply. In addition, engineering careers pay well, provide job security, and help to shatter unflattering gender stereotypes that all too often limit young women from achieving their true potential.

How To Use Social Media in Word Of Mouth Marketing for Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How To Use Social Media in Word Of Mouth Marketing for Your Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career There is one marketing method that will grow your personal brand like nothing else, and that is through word of mouth on social media. In order to effectively harness this it is important to approach your audience and influencers the right way. How can your brand best encourage recommendations from others online? Through the human connections and appealing to the desires and needs of your community with helpful content and images that will create a strong image of your brand. Social media allows us to connect with our target market in a meaningful way. To be successful in todays online world a personal brand should become more real and intimate with its audience and customers. This will in turn create more of an awareness and can even help increase sales and leads as people share their experiences. What Attracts Word of Mouth Marketing? Creating a marketing campaign is just the beginning to connecting with your potential customers in order to generate a buzz for your brand. Here are some benefits of using social media to create more visibility: Increased opportunities You’ll have more open doors to connect with people beyond your website with a focused strategy on the right networks for your niche. In order to build more brand visibility or to enter into a competitive market you will need your own original spin from what the competition is doing. Create a trusted brand Not only does social media allow you to connect with your current customers on a more personal level, it costs a lot less in lead generation. Your brand followers can become your biggest advocates, and engage in marketing your company for you. Spy on the competition Emulate what your competitors are doing and learn what needs are not being fulfilled for your target market by them. You can in turn can create something that is popular for your audience in a new and creative way that appeals to them. Manage your brand online People are talking about your business on their social networks popular measurement websites even provide a score based on your communication and activity. Its good practice to utilize various social media monitoring tools and find out what your market is after. As word of mouth marketing continues to remain popular it is important to stay in touch with your audience in a relevant and trusted way. Pay attention to what content or images generate the most interest while remaining focused on the needs of the audience. Its fresh, original content that is going to make a lasting impression for your brand.

Ready to Give up on Your Job Search Not Yet!

Ready to Give up on Your Job Search Not Yet! It’s true what people sayâ€"looking for a full-time job really is a full-time job. With all the searching, prep work, resume tweaking, interviewing, and feedback, it can be an emotional roller coaster. People can get easily burned out during a job search, but that doesn’t mean you should abandon your dreams. Here are six ways to avoid burnout and keep on track until you find the right job for you. Change Your Attitude A huge part of looking for a job is your mental and emotional state. If you think that looking at job posting and filling out applications is just a waste of time that isn’t going to lead to anything, it likely won’t. Instead, adjust your mindset to think of sorting through listings as trying to find the diamond in the rough that will be a great position for you. Even something as mundane as filling out applications can be much more enjoyable with the right attitudeâ€"think of it as the first step to working for a great company, instead of just filling out the same information again and again. Try to visualize success and remember that looking for a job is a numbers gameâ€"the more you put yourself out there and apply, the greater chance of landing a great job. When you can see yourself ending the process with a great position, it can change how you view the entire job hunt and help you stay more positive. Take a Break from Technology For modern job hunters, looking for a new position means spending a lot of time behind the computer screen. Looking at the same networking pages and job listing sites over and over can be draining, so take a break from the screen and go back to traditional ways of finding a job. Go to an in-person networking event, have lunch with someone who works in your desired industry and pick their brain, or visit organizations where you might want to work. Pounding the pavement can not only get great results and help you stand out, but it can also break up the monotony of sitting at your computer for days on end. Even stepping away from the resumes and applications for an hour or two and doing something enjoyable or get outside can be the mental break you need to keep plugging along. Leverage Technology It might seem counterintuitive from the previous tip, but learning how to leverage technology and   use it in a different way can be a great jumpstart to your job hunt. There are myriad websites and apps that can help you work smarter to find a new job. Spend a day researching new technology options and seeing what you can get to work for you. Resources like job lead aggregators or automatic searches send you periodic emails with all applicable job listings, saving you the time of manually searching through job boards. Apps can connect you with recruiters and help you be the first person to know when a new job is posted, and tools and software add-ons can help keep you organized with an easily trackable to-do list so you don’t miss anything. By removing a lot of the menial, mundane tasks from job hunting, you can hopefully get some of the fire back. Write a Basic Cover Letter Most job seekers find writing a cover letter one of the most frustrating and time-consuming aspects of the entire process. After all, how can you really encapsulate who you are and what you can do for a company on just one sheet of paper? To fight the frustration, many people turn to template cover letters that can be used for nearly every position they are applying for. While this definitely speeds up the application process, it might not get you the results you want and can add to the frustration. Especially in a competitive job market, a cover letter is your chance to shine and personalize it to match your skills and the needs of the organization. For best results, start with a skeleton cover letter that covers the basics of who you are and what you can do. For each new application, write a customized first paragraph and incorporate language from the job posting into the body of the letter. Don’t worry about dragging out the letter or making it fit the entire pageâ€"simply cover the material you want and keep it short and sweet. Starting with a basic cover letter makes it easier to adjust your response based on the position and helps you quickly provide companies a great resource into who you are. Ask for Feedback If you’ve been looking for a job without any luck for quite a while, it might be time to step back and take an honest looking the mirror. Ask professionals, like former co-workers or mentors for advice and what you could be doing differently. They might be able to give some counsel, point you in a different direction, or help edit your resume or take you through some practice interview questions. They could also be able to point out things you could do to make your resume shine, such as  doing pro bono work within the community, or networking in a different area. You can also reach out to friends and family members and ask for honest feedback about how you present yourselfâ€"there could be something small you are doing that is off-putting to potential employees and holding you back without you even realizing it. Set a Daily Limit It can be tempting to spend all day every day looking for a job, but at a certain point, there just aren’t any more applications to fill out and you’ve likely reached your limit on productive work for the day. If that’s the case, know when to step back and take a break. Oftentimes, you’ll come back to the same resume or cover letter the next day with a clear mind and be able to make progress you couldn’t the day before. Burnout is more likely to happen if you are pushing yourself too hard and spending every waking hour on the job hunt. By setting a limit of a certain number of hours or applications a day, you’ll be able to work more efficiently. Don’t forget to reward yourself after your time is upâ€"taking a break can be huge for your mental health.

Resume Trends From 2020 - What Will They Be?

Resume Trends From 2020 - What Will They Be?The term 'Resume Trends' is a catch all phrase for the many styles of resume styles available today. This term has been heavily used by recruiters to help them make a decision on whether or not to hire you. Here are some basic resume trends:o Traditional Format - A resume should follow a traditional format that follows the same format used in schools and colleges. The format should be formatted in this manner so that it can easily be found by a recruiter who is reviewing your application. A traditional resume should be clear and understandable and follow a standard format.o Cover Letter - The cover letter should highlight your specific experience and skills that will make you stand out as an employee. It should summarize your education, professional background, hobbies, family, volunteer work, volunteer organizations and awards won.o Professional Background - In addition to being written for you by the recruiter, the professional background should also be written for you by past employers. Past employers may have found information on your character, history, and qualifications to be more valuable than details on your education, experience, or education credentials. The wording you use on your cover letter should include details that are relevant to the skills and education you listed in your previous employment.o Character References - The cover letter and other educational documents should provide references for you. For example, if you attended school at a certain college, the references should be from people at that college who are your direct friends and associates. If you have worked with the same company as another person, you should list that person's name and state that the person was associated with your position.o Past Employers - For some positions such as a career director or manager, your resume is your first 'interview' of the day, so it is important to list a few references of your previous employers. T hese references will give you the opportunity to make sure that you will meet the hiring requirements. You may not remember the names of these individuals, but they will provide you with a solid base of people to talk to before you are even interviewed.In today's World, it is more important than ever to know the basics of how to write a resume. If you want to stand out in today's world of large numbers of resumes, it is vital that you get to know the latest resume trends.It is important to understand the fundamentals of writing a resume so that you will be able to include skills and education that show how you can use them as a skill. There are many ways to incorporate this in your resume; for example, if you are involved in a leadership role within your organization, include this information so that it can show potential employers that you have this type of potential. Writing a resume may seem complicated, but once you understand the basic directions, it is easy to create a resume that you will be proud of.

Planning for the Future of Your Business What Happens When You Die

Planning for the Future of Your Business What Happens When You Die Are you prepared for the future of your business? Do you know what happens when you die? If not, keep reading! Having a successful business is one of the biggest accomplishments you can ever have in life. But, it can still be taken away in a split second! As such, one of the best business decisions you can make is to prepare for the unexpected. You never know when your company may need to close its doors or, on a more serious note, when you may take your last breath. Its a grim thing to think about what happens when you die, but it is a possibility you cant rule out. Here are 3 things you can do to prepare your business for what happens after you die. 1. Establish a Successor A successor is someone who will take over the business after youre gone. This person typically assumes your role and responsibilities as well as any finances left in your name that are tied to the business. Your personal finances are not theirs unless otherwise stated when estate planning. There are a number of other reasons to be specific and clear when choosing a successor, though. Say you want your successor to be a child of yours but you have more than one child interested in leading the business. Say you have a few employees who would be great leaders to run the business, but at the moment there isnt a clear way to tell who would take over. It falls on you to offer the guidance thats needed to ensure a smooth transition. These are decisions you have to make sooner rather than later, considering you never know when your time will come. 2. Get a Business Partner Another way to ensure your business lives on long after youre gone is to get a business partner. This person will basically take over your side of the business in the event of your death. They may choose to bring on a new partner to fill your role or they may decide to do your job and theirs after you pass. Your business finances are also in their hands, which they can keep for themselves, donate, or invest back into the business. If you have a preference as to where your money goes, put it in writing to ensure things go as planned after youre gone. 3. Put an Employee Stock Ownership Plan in Place The final option you have to prepare your business for the event of your death is to create an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Such a structure puts all of the business funds that are in your name in the hands of your employees. It sets up annual contributions that can happen just once or over a set period of time, depending on the amount of money you have and the number of employees who have stock in the company. Be Ready for What Happens When You Die As much as you may not want to think about what happens when you die, its something you need to do as a business owner. Just imagine being an employee and having a job one day and then hearing the company is going out of business the next. Picture what it would be like to be a child thinking youll inherit your parents company only to have it taken from you. These are the things that happen when business owners dont prepare for the life of their business after their own life! They can significantly alter the course of your business or stop its progression altogether. For more important business tips and insights to be aware of, click here.

Why is self-awareness in leadership so critical - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching

Why is self-awareness in leadership so critical - Wolfgang Career Executive Coaching I’m fortunate to be an executive coach. As you might imagine, I get to see many different types of leaders and leadership styles. Take it from my more than 25 years of experience… it’s not easy being a leader! The set of skills and capabilities a leader needs today is always morphing AND expanding! Since the business landscape is being called VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) it will be the agile, self â€"aware leader, good at learning and adapting, who will succeed. Leaders Need Executive Coaching Unfortunately, you can’t buy something online that will make you agile, self-aware and good at learning and adapting. Executive coaching comes to mind but do coaches help with self-awareness in leadership? It’s common to think of executive coaching for: Better interpersonal skills, listening skills and empathy New and broader perspectives Smooth transition from manager to C-suite Improved leadership skills and authenticity Recognition of useful behavioral options to engage employees Increased job satisfaction The list of goals and skills that an executive coach can help you develop is much longer than this. There are also dozens (even thousands, I’ve heard) of “leadership” books written each year where you will find many lists of key leadership traits and skills that will make you more successful. An executive coach can help you set goals and choose key skills for the issues you may be facing. Over the last few decades, I’ve witnessed, first hand, many leaders successfully make these improvements. What I’d like for you to recognize is that your self-awareness is critical in accomplishing these goals! Benefits of Self-Awareness in Leadership According to Naz Beheshti, “the key to becoming agile is to be self-aware in order to innovate or risk becoming archaic.” The idea of starting with self-awareness to unlock your leadership potential is fairly new. Self-awareness is the foundation all leaders need in order to understand when change is needed and successfully make the transition. It is the ability to see oneself as others do, not just as you see yourself. Chinwe Esimai says that self-awareness is the most important capability for leaders to develop. She cited an article published in the MIT Sloan Management Review titled, How To Become a Better Leader, which argues that self-awareness in leadership is paramount because it enables you to make better choices by recognizing and understanding the emotions in yourself and others. They also found that companies with strong financial performance tend to have employees with higher levels of self-awareness. Growing Trend in Leadership Coaching Not all executive coaches have this emphasis on self-awareness in leadership and management. When your leadership challenge requires more than learning a few new skills, it’s important to find an executive and leadership coach who will help you increase your self-awareness AND build new skills to support the leadership capabilities you need. Let’s look at case study to see how this works. This is an example of a successful performer who was promoted to Director. His name was Jim. This guy really got things done! He was likeable, analytical, strategic, could see big picture and details, and would get whatever he was assigned DONE. So, what’s the problem? You see, he had learned to get things done through other people by being authoritarian. His model was the military and he thought he was a “good leader” without many areas that needed improvement. He wanted to learn how to communicate and engage his employees to have more initiative and more collaboration. Since he is pretty humble and doesn’t desire to take credit, he wants his people to get the credit. The problem, according to Jim is, “they wait for me to tell them what to do!” He has created the monster he wants to slay! Within his first few sessions, he developed enough self-awareness to see the direction he needed to take and the skills he needed to learn to change his (and in response, their) patterns. He is practicing new ways of approaching his direct reports and asking for their input. He is making progress. Jim would not be making such progress if he had not begun to develop self-awareness. He would still be operating/acting in ways he learned in the militaryâ€"focus on doing tasks which is not working in his new context. Clearly, self-awareness in leadership is important as it opens the leader up to new points of view and is actually motivating! As a leader, you can always learn how to be more influential, more authentic, more humble and more clear in your communication. And the focus on self-awareness and your leadership will allow you to learn efficient skills and become a leader who is authentic and effective. By Diane Dean|2018-11-15T14:40:06+00:00November 14th, 2018|Career Coaching, Performance|0 Comments