Career Links Roundup: January 2012
Did you make New Year's resolutions? If the answer is yes, and any of them related to upgrading your career, you can take one step toward keeping your resolution by staying current with the latest news on career-related topics.
This month's roundup features four links that can help you better navigate the working world and achieve your professional goals!
5 LinkedIn Apps for Power Networking | Fast Company
Amber Mac describes five free applications developed to help professionals better utilize their LinkedIn contacts. The apps include Cardmunch, which takes a photo of paper business cards and cross-references the information with your existing LinkedIn contacts; Reading List by Amazon, which is a great conversation starter and can help guide your work-related reading list; and LunchMeet, an app that broadcasts your meal time availability so you'll "never eat alone" and therefore miss an opportunity for face-to-face networking.
5 Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012 | Harvard Business Review
Strategy consultant Dorie Clark, author of the forthcoming book “What's Next?: The Art of Reinventing Your Personal Brand,” has written a refreshingly frank post about what NOT to do this year. Like a splash of cold water on your face, it may just wake you up and save you from engaging in mindless, pointless activities that do not help your career or work performance and mostly just waste your time.
As an example, here is a snippet from her post, focusing on why you should stop reading annoying things:
"I have nearly a dozen newspaper and magazine subscriptions, the result of alluring specials ($10 for an entire year!) and the compulsion not to miss out on crucial information. But after detoxing for a month, I was able to reflect on which publications actually refreshed me — and which felt like a duty. The New Yorker, even though it's not a business publication, broadens my perspective and is a genuine pleasure to read. The pretentious tech publication with crazy layouts and too-small print? Not so much."
How to Handle the Five Killer Telephone Interview Questions | Simply Hired
Martin Yate, author of the popular "Knock 'Em Dead" resume-writing series of books, provides short, easy-to-implement strategies for five of the toughest interview questions, period. All of his suggestions can be adapted to your specific situation. Here's his take on what to do if you are asked "tell me a little about yourself":
"Interviewers don't want your life story; they want to know if meeting you would be a good use of their time. Answer with a brief work history showing how each project and job helped prepare you for this job; then give a profile of the 'professional you' addressing your skills as they relate to doing this job well."
Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail to Keep Their Best Talent | Forbes.com
Eric Jackson, founder and managing member of Ironfire Capital LLC, discusses ways in which companies turn off talented professionals and cause them to look for better work elsewhere. The post is balanced, noting that top talent should be treated as "untouchable," but workers with a solid track record and a skill for getting things done should be provided with the tools to help them succeed and advance within the organization.
Jackson notes that most companies have no discussion around employee career development, and he asserts that is a big mistake.
"Here’s a secret for most bosses: most employees don’t know what they’ll be doing in five years. In our experience, about less than 5 percent of people could tell you if you asked. However, everyone wants to have a discussion with you about their future. Most bosses never engage with their employees about where they want to go in their careers — even the top talent. This represents a huge opportunity for you and your organization if you do bring it up.
"Our best clients have separate annual discussions with their employees — apart from their annual or bi-annual performance review meetings — to discuss succession planning or career development. If your best people know that you think there’s a path for them going forward, they’ll be more likely to hang around."
~Liz Massey, Managing Editor, ASU Alumni Association