From Politics and Policy to Coaching and Consulting

From Politics and Policy to Coaching and Consulting Success Story > From: Job To: Startup From Politics and Policy to Coaching and Consulting “People kept telling me that I had good empathy and intuition, and I thought I could do more with those qualities.” * From Politics and Policy to Coaching and Consulting Marcelle Fletcher worked for many years in a variety of rewarding roles in the public sector, but wanted to draw on her skills and experience by helping people to reach their potential. She suggests we always have options, so long as we can embrace change and let go of our fears. Read her story here. What was your role in your old job? I worked for many years in Local Government, in Strategic Policy roles, as well as programme and project management. Initially, I focused on policing issues. After the disturbances on Broadwater Farm, I mediated between the police and the community and got them to sit down and talk. I had a number of rewarding and high profile roles. I led on a prestigious award scheme, and a muti-million-pound regeneration programme, but I was ready for a change. What is/are your new role(s)? I run my own coaching business to support people to make changes in either their personal or professional lives. I feel coaching is a powerful tool and I am about to pilot coaching with some young offenders, which I'm really excited about. Why did you change? People kept telling me that I had good empathy and intuition, and I thought I could do more with those qualities. Are you happy with the change? Completely. It has made all the difference to me as a person. I feel happy, I have met so many new people, and I've made some deep friendships. What do you miss and what don't you miss? I was part of the institution! It was nice to be respected by Chief Officers, as well as members of my team. I partly miss my regular salary, but I don’t miss writing strategic policy papers for Politicians! How did you go about making the change? I needed to get out and have some space to step back and think, so I took some unpaid leave. When I returned I knew it was time to leave. Due to an internal restructuring, I was in a position to opt for voluntary redundancy. Despite my manager trying to dissuade me, I knew I had to do it. I could see it all much more clearly as ‘an outsider’ and I knew I could no longer function effectively in the new environment. It was a hard decision, though. After I left, I worked as a consultant in local government whilst I trained to become a coach. It was fantastic to have something else to focus on that was totally unrelated to my day job and to build up individual clients. What was the most difficult thing about changing? I thought I was on a lonely journey and had no firm plan of action. I just knew it was now or never. What help did you get? I was offered some coaching, which I found quite helpful, but I felt I would have benefitted from a more goal orientated approach that provided a clear structure to work within. This is the type of coaching I offer, and it is very powerful. I also attended a Careershifters Workshop, which was amazing, as I was in a room full of people, from many different professions, all wanting to make a career change. That night I met people and we supported each other and have remained friends. It was great. What have you learnt in the process? That I am able to connect with people and help them improve their confidence, change their career and help them reach their potential. What’s great is I am continually learning through my experiences of becoming a consultant to the Four6one Group (a consulting, recruitment and leadership development company), as well as through coaching and mentoring for a major Broadcasting Corporation and coaching senior managers through a major transformation programme. I constantly learn how fulfilling coaching is and when your clients say such things as â€"‘I feel empowered’ (after the first session), or ‘The work I have done with Marcelle put me in a position to find my dream job’ â€" I feel rewarded from their confidence in me. What do you wish you'd done differently? I wish I had recognised earlier the breadth of my experience and how this could be transferred to coaching. What would you advise others to do in the same situation? If you haven’t already, I recommend you attend a Careershifters Workshop. Also, that life changes and we do have options, so embrace change and let go of fear. Keep close to those friends and family who support and believe in you, and hear and hold onto their words of encouragement. Trust and go with your instinct! What lessons could you take from Marcelle's story to use in your own career change? Let us know in the comments below.

How to Create a MindTap Professional Writing Resume

How to Create a MindTap Professional Writing ResumeIf you've been struggling to get a job and your resume is too average, you may want to consider a MindTap Professional Writing Resume Writing Program. This program has helped thousands of people get the job they are looking for and then more, which can be a positive and uplifting thing for you. This program can help you reach your goals quickly and effectively.You may feel that you're not showing the employer how qualified you are for the position you are applying for, but the truth is, you should be highlighting all of the positive things about you, and leaving them wanting more. There are so many aspects of a resume that most people never take the time to show their 'personality' to the hiring manager. There are just too many good candidates, and it would be very difficult to find someone to hire without seeing a resume. These elements of professional writing resume can help land you the job you're looking for.One of the first step s to taking advantage of a MindTap program is to begin creating your professional writing resume. With a self-administered program like this, you don't have to pay a fee to use the software or answer any questions. You simply go online, create a resume that you can submit, and have it sent out.You'll start by listing down all of the qualities that you're looking for in a prospective employer. This includes what skills and qualifications you have that would make them want to hire you. Make sure that you include this information as part of your professional writing resume. The professional writing resume that will be submitted to the hiring company will not make the hiring manager wonder if they should consider other candidates, and it can help you land the job that you are looking for.Next, list down your employability skills. Many people forget about this, but this can make the hiring manager wants to hire you over another candidate who might have the same skills. Employability skil ls include getting along with others, managing time, and following instructions. If you don't remember them, they can be taught. You can learn all about these skills and their applications to your own skills by reading this article.Next, list down your leadership skills. Leadership skills include your ability to communicate effectively, be willing to take initiative, and be able to work as a team. You should also include this information in your professional writing resume. The professional writing resume that will land you the job you are looking for can include these attributes in a sentence or two, and you will begin to see how the hiring manager will appreciate it when they read about them.Finally, list down your career goals. You can write down these goals and how you plan to achieve them on a separate sheet of paper. This can be a major benefit, because you will be able to show the hiring manager exactly what you want out of the position you are applying for.These are just a f ew of the things you can do to build your professional writing resume. Your professional writing resume is one of the most important documents that you will ever produce.

The Internet Black Hole - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Internet Black Hole - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career It seems logical, doesnt it,  to focus your job search effort toward  applying for jobs online? With millions of jobs posted on over 10,000 job boards, you could apply 24/7/365. You could even apply without having to brush your teeth or change out of your pajamas! Unfortunately, over 99% of online job applications do not produce any results. The stupendous ineffectiveness of all these activities has given the internet a new nickname … “the black hole.” A black hole, for those who are not astrophysicists, is a place where large amounts of matter go in and nothing comes out. In Suzanne Lucas’ October 12, 2012, article titled How Online Job Searches Worsen the Job Crisis she wrote the following for CBS MoneyWatch: “Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, recently noted such a case after a companys resume-screening system concluded that none of the 29,000 applicants for an engineering job had the right qualifications.” Here are a few fact and fiction excerpts from my book Fast Track Your Job Search (and Career!)  which I  hope you will find helpful in using the internet as a job search tool: Fact: You can learn a lot from reviewing online job postings. Reviewing highly relevant job postings can help you identify industry and professional trends. This can also give you ideas regarding the work content of certain positions. You can use this information to add key words into your resume Fiction: Applying online for posted jobs is efficient. Here are a few reasons why applying for such jobs is not efficient: (1) The typical posting on popular sites can attract 300-500 resume submissions in a few days. These are your competitors.  (There are 5 other reasons!) Fact: Internet job postings have revolutionized the way some companies hire. For less desirable employers, this is true. Why should they pay an independent recruiter when they can post the job online and have hundreds of candidates from which to choose? I am sharing this information because most job seekers spend the majority of their effort applying for jobs online. This can result in  a huge waste of time. Factor in the cost of lost income and perhaps you can see why it is my contention that this is the most expensive way to find a job. So, what  can you do to improve your  online odds if you  refuse to  join A.A. (Applicants Anonymous)? My best advice is that you  leverage the power of networking in pursuing posted jobs. Here is a high-level outline of a process I have seen work  well: (1) Identify a posted job that is a great match for you and for which the employer is identified, (2) search LinkedIn for first and second level contacts you have in the employer, (3) request direct help from your first level contacts if they are sufficiently strong and/or (4) identify desirable second level contacts and request your first level “connectors” to introduce you to themand then attempt to make positive contact. If the employer contacts are not the decision maker, seek to get them to recommend you to them. I  hope that this article will cause you  think twice before investing the majority of your  job searches  applying online. If I am successful,  my efforts will be  rewarded by saving you  untold hours that you can  better utilize  by calling employers directly, contacting relevant  recruiters, and networking with employed people. Good luck and best wishes for landing the career you deserve! Author: Richard Kirby  is an executive career consultant, speaker on career strategies, and author of Fast Track Your Job Search (and Career!). Richard Kirby’s earlier experience includes managing engineering, human resources, marketing and sales teams for employers that ranged from a Fortune 100 to a VC-funded entrepreneurial startup. For the past 11 years at Executive Impact, Richard has helped hundreds of executives and professionals successfully navigate today’s transformed 21st century job market and achieve better employment for themselves. Richard’s expertise includes career assessments and goal setting, personal marketing/branding, resume enhancement, strategic networking and job interviewing, and “contrarian” job search methodologies. He is a Board Certified Coach (in career coaching) and a Certified Management Consultant (recognized by the ISO).

Divorce is immature and selfish. Dont do it.

Divorce is immature and selfish. Dont do it. Divorce is always on my mind because I got a divorce four years ago. Not that I wanted to. In fact, when I thought we were going to a couples therapist we were actually going to a divorce mediator. And then, when it was clear that we were going to have to get a divorce, and I had all the money to fund it, my lawyer finally said to me, If you drag your feet any longer, youre going to have to get a new lawyer because Im retiring. So we got a divorce. I hated it. (And of course, I blogged about it the whole time.) Subsequently I have become a vocal critic of divorce. I think its an incredibly lame and selfish route to take. Here are five reasons why: 1. Divorce is a cliche among people in denial.   I see divorce in every story. For example, as soon as I heard about the school shootings in Chardon, OH, I got stuck on the fact that the kids parents had just gotten a divorce and left him with his grandparents. I blame the parents. Heather Armstrong is a great blogger who I have followed for years. But Im really stuck on the news that she just announced a separation from her husband. Armstrong supports her family with her blog, dooce.com, which is about herself, so of course, I watch her really closely. In her post announcing that she had asked her husband to leave, she said the two common, and delusional things we hear from divorced parents all the time: I can’t be a good parent if I’m not happy and I’ll never be happy in this marriage. and The kids are doing so well. Kids are really resilient. I’ve heard those things so many times. From parents who are getting a divorce who are full of shit. The dad who tells everyone he got a divorce because his wife is crazy and then leaves his kids with the mom. Newsflash: if your wife is really crazy, then you are crazy for leaving your kids alone with her. In fact, you are not crazy, you’re willfully negligent. And if your wife is not really crazy then get your butt back to the house and raise your kids like an adult. The mom who says the kids are fine. What does that mean? Do you know that if you ask kids who are living with a crack addict mom if they are fine, they’ll say yes. They’ll say they want to stay. Because kids are trying to survive. 2. Divorce is nearly always terrible for kids. Your case is not the exception. Kids do not break down during a divorce because they see their parents breaking down. The kids see that one parent just abandoned them. Of course the kid is not going to have a compete fit and push another parent away in anger. Read The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, which is Judith Wallerstein’s 25-year study of children of divorce. It’s the only study that covers such a long period of time, and she concludes that divorce is absolutely terrible for kids over the long-term. And a wide range of studies have concurred. It’s completely obvious how Wallerstein gets to her conclusion. Think of it this way: Two parents decide they don’t like living together and they want to start over. They can’t meet their needs by simply living together and making the best of it. They want a new chance, in a new household. Where does this leave the kids? They don’t get a new chance until they grow up. So now they have to shuttle back and forth between two homes so that their parents can get another chance. Meanwhile, the kids don’t get a second chance at their childhood. And the most damaging thing about divorce is that the kids don’t have a home; to say a kid has two homes is the same as saying the kid has no home. Because a home is your basecamp. If you have two basecamps you don’t have a home. And anyway, if having two homes really worked, then the parents who are so upset about living together can each have a different home during the day, while the kids are at school, and then come back to their other home. But no one would do that, right? Because having two homes sucks. 3. Divorce is for dumb people. In case you are thinking that divorce is normal among smart, educated parents, you would be wrong. The divorce rate is plummeting among educated women. For example, among Asian women with a college degree the divorce rate is one percent. Divorce is for people who can’t think ahead enough to realize that the cost to the kids is so high that it’s not worth the benefits the parents get. 4. Divorce reflects mental illness. I have been reading tons of books about borderline personality disorder and parenting, and I’m surprised that no one has pointed out that the decision to divorce is similar to the decision making process that you get with borderline personality disorder. For example, a parent with BPD is often unable to separate their own wellbeing from their child’s. The person with BPD is afraid of not being loved and makes all their decisions based on that fear. So, the person decides they are not receiving proper love in their marriage and then decides that the children would be better off if the marriage were over. The marriage being over is not good for the children. But that is not the issue. Why do we treat people with BPD as mentally ill and people getting a divorce as adults making adult decisions? 5. Divorce is often a career issue. I can help with that. So many times I have been coaching someone who thought they need a divorce, but really, the marriage has a career issue. So, look, when there are no kids, I dont think theres a lot of collateral damage when two people want a divorce. But maybe I can save a few childrens childhoods by telling you some common problems and how to solve them: The woman is pissed that her husband hasn’t gotten a good paying job in years. This type of woman feels overly responsible for taking care of the family. And she feels taken advantage of by the guy because she thinks he could get a job if he wanted to. (This is probably where Heather is coming from since her husband, who has been working on her blog for years, announced he is looking for a job.) The problem, though, is that the woman married a guy who doesn’t want to have a big career. She knew this before they got married, but she chose to ignore it. There was probably something she liked about him, something she needed from him, that he provided. Now she wants something different. The solution is to stop being angry at the guy for not getting a job. Remember that the kids love him and remind yourself the reasons you loved him when you married him. Those things are still there. If you get a divorce you are not going to be able to miraculously stop working. So bite the bullet and accept where you are and finish raising the kids. Bonus: If you start loving your husband again you will probably love your job again because you’ll feel good that the job allows you to create a happy family. The guy who thinks his wife is holding back his career. Oh, god, I hear this so many times. The guy is not where he wants to be in his career. He has so many ideas, so many dreams, and he is really unhappy where his is. The answer here is: tough shit. You had kids before you fulfilled all your career dreams. Unless you are independently wealthy, you have to scale back your dreams when you have kids because you can’t take wild financial risks with your family’s wellbeing. So you have kids and a wife, and you have to get a reality check that you are not going to be Mark Zuckerberg. It’s okay. Just focus on being a good father and a good husband and stay with your wife and kids. It is incredibly selfish and immature to decide your kids should have to shuttle between two families so you can take another swing at a home run. It’s time for you to be a good dad. That’s your job now. You owe it to your kids. Bonus: Once you start taking pride in being a good parent and a good husband, you will have better self-esteem and your career will get better as a result of that. The person who is bored and wants out. So many people get divorced because they are bored. This blows my mind. Your kids are not bored with your marriage. Your kids need boring at home in order to have the necessary foundation to fly outside the home. If your kids are focused on creating their own stability bouncing between two parents then the kids can’t focus on figuring out who they are while they grow up. They have to spend their time figuring out who their family is. And that’s not fair to your kids. A job absolutely 100% cannot make you happy. A happy family can make you happy and it’s possible that nothing else really even comes close to making a person happy. So instead of messing up your family in order to make yourself happy, keep your family together and use your job to address your boredom problem. A fun job can make your life more interesting. Your spouse is not in your life to make you feel interesting. Your spouse is there to love you and raise your kids with you. Don’t ask for anything else. If you want to feel more interesting then go do something more interesting. And come home for dinner. The person who says they are a victim of violence. Two-thirds of divorces take place in low-conflict homes, and in those cases, the kids are much better off if the parent just stick it out. So lets look at high-conflict homes: It takes two people to fight. And there’s great research to show that if you picked an asshole the first time, you’ll pick the same type of asshole the second time. (Which is why divorce rates for second marriages are so much higher than first marriages.) So instead of getting rid of your kids’ parent, figure out why you picked a person like this, and then get good at drawing boundaries. Really, good boundaries can save even the worse marriages. Taking care of your own contribution to the mess can single-handedly stop the mess. This is especially true of violence. At this point in the history, where women have so much earning power, women are equally as responsible for men for the violence in a household. In fact, the US Centers for Disease Control reports that most domestic violence today is a 50/50 thing. Both parties are responsible. Which means that even if you have one of the worst marriages, you have the power to fix it. And if you don’t use that powerif you don’t fundamentally change how you are in the marriage in order to stop the craziness, then you will not only recreate it in your next relationship, but you will continue to model it for your kids. So look, I don’t see any reason left that makes divorce ok when there are kids. Personal responsibility always trumps running away. And yes, here are the links to my own marital violence and my decison to stay and fix it. Im practicing what I preach. Im working really hard at keeping my own marriage together. Its a cold, lonely place to be in life. But its better than the alternative. Because divorce is the ultimate example of just running away. And, while your kids probably will not pull out a gun in the school cafeteria, long-term sadness and a lingering inability to connect to other people is an irrefutable result of divorce. Its something that you can prevent.

School Counseling Resumes

School Counseling ResumesA school counseling resume is a must-have for any adult struggling with the need to find a job. The fact is that more people are finding that they have jobs that do not even require a college degree. This means that those who have a degree but lack experience may find themselves in a position of having to seek work that does not require much training.While this may seem like a good thing, it is in fact a bad thing for those seeking jobs that do not require a college degree. The reason for this is that many employers will look at the applicant's job history and determine whether or not he or she is equipped to perform the duties. It is therefore important to have a school counseling resume with every application.Schooling is not the only requirement for getting a job. An applicant needs to also have the necessary time management skills to be able to work and manage a business. Being able to use information effectively and organize it properly is necessary for being successful. It is also important to know when to use that information to put it to use.Experience is also very important. While it may not seem so on the surface, experience is crucial in getting a job that does not require a college degree. People can sometimes find that they have become proficient at certain skills and experience makes it possible for them to take on tasks that they could not accomplish otherwise.Just as important is the fact that the resume itself is to be something that communicates how you want to communicate to the employer. The need to get hired is more than just your resume. It is essential that the resume speaks to the employer and shows the employer that you are the best candidate for the job.In order to make your resume as effective, it is important to use it correctly. Most resumes are distributed to more than one person before it is distributed to employers. In order to get a high ranking on your resume, you need to make sure that your resume is d istributed among several people.While the procedure may seem somewhat complicated, it is actually quite simple. Send your resume to several people so that you can get the maximum number of eyes on it. The person who receives your resume is your mirror image, the person who reads it. If your resume is a better fit with this person than with others, then it is likely that the resume will be given a higher ranking on the resume.Getting a job that does not require a college degree can sometimes be tricky. A school counseling resume can make things a little easier, but it is not the only way to get that job. You also need to make sure that you are applying for jobs that require training, experience, and a college education. This way, you will be more likely to get the job.

Motivation Monday Your Punch List

Motivation Monday Your Punch List As I was looking around the house this weekend, I happened to notice some repair work that needed to get done. Nothing major, but none-the-less, noticeable things. I realized that Id been walking by these blemishes for months and had turned a blind eye to them. It feels overwhelming when I think about fixing them in bulk. But, when I think about each project individually, certainly there is no reason the cant be accomplished. So, why havent I? We Need A Punch List In order to carve out time and dedicate energy to a project, task, or anything, we have to give it a spot on our list. When you think about everything you have to do in a day, adding one more item might seem impossible. But when theres a will, theres a way. When I was working for a start-up, we were revamping the space and as the project drew to a close, we created a punch list for the contractor. These were the remaining fixes we wanted completed. Usually, these were minor details but we were still expecting them to get resolved. Each day, each week, we shared the punch list and its progress with the contractor until finally the work was completed to our satisfaction. Clear and Actionable The list of items on our punch list was clear and actionable. The contractor understood what we meant and knew what he had to do to complete the fix. Time Sensitive We were anxious to have the project completed so we could open our doors. The contractor was anxious to finish the project so he could allocate his resources to other projects and claim the rest of his payment from our project. These issues drove everyone involved to want to complete the work as soon as possible. Your Career Your Search You probably figured I would tie this in to career related content and here I go. You have a punch list, right? You already have a daily list a mile long with tons of important personal and work related assignments to complete. Do you have such a Punch List for your career or job search? What do you need to do to advance, move, or grow? Are there skills you are missing or certification you need? Are there events you should be attending, groups you should belong to or people you should meet? Are there job leads you need to followup on? Applications pending? Target employers to research? Come on. Put this stuff on a list so you cant ignore it. But dont stop there. You punch list has to be clear and actionable. If you havent identified the specific steps you need to take, it will be darn-near impossible to check it off the list. For example, dont just list training. Instead,   specify the type of training, who offers it and how much it costs. Then you can figure out who will pay for it and when you will take it. What was it that made you list items on your punch list? What was your motivation? Most likely, the ones you are more excited about are the ones you will make time for and get done first. Giving time-lines or deadlines prioritizes things as long as you dont let time-lines slip.These things have to be seen as time sensitive in order to hold priority over daily fires and life explosions. So what is on your punch list this week? Is it actionable? Is it time sensitive? Write it down!

Job Seekers Success Story Networking Naturally - Hire Imaging

Job Seekers Success Story Networking Naturally - Hire Imaging A client Ill call Jim Jones, dreaded having to network in his job search campaign. He knew the statistics (that vary only slightly): 70-80% of those who find jobs, do so through networking! I shared with him one of my favorite quotes from career expert, Susan Whitcomb, The Choice: Its Either NETwork or NOTwork! Thats all well and good, Jim said. But how do I begin? The thought of it makes me sick to my stomach! So, our work together was to first dig deep and find out why Jim was not networking; and then help him push through what was holding him back to move forward. Through the coaching process, Jim discovered three main factors holding him back. He also learned to use some powerful yet simple questioning to move past these roadblocks. Obstacle #1: Fear of rejection and failure. Jims Self-Talk: What if they do say no? Whats the worst that can happen? I can only control my own actions and responses, and not those of others. With that in mind, how would I describe my success in networking relevant to what I can control? Obstacle #2: Fear of appearing needy. Jims Self-Talk: I will concentrate on positioning myself to the 180 º opposite of being needy, to being prepared with success stories and great marketing tools off and online. I will remember people whom I respected. They asked for what they needed in a professional manner. What were their actions that I can learn from and imitate? Obstacle #3: Frustration from feeling overwhelmed. Jims Self-Talk: How do I get the right people to talk to me? Who do I want to specifically target? How can I break this down into smaller, more manageable steps? Once Jim became more comfortable with focusing on the fact that not networking was preventing his success far more than any potential outcome of networking; and on what he could control, it became much easier to get started. Heres what Jim did to jumpstart networking that felt natural to him: He made a list of people he wanted to know. His target market was operations management in a retail distribution setting. He took his list of 25 targeted companies. He researched people who worked there by titles (Director to CEO) through company websites, LinkedIn, etc. For example, he came up with the name of a VP of Operations at ABC Company). He kept adding to this list. He made a list of people he already knew. He included names, phone numbers, email addresses, LinkedIn addresses if applicable, and a contact date/time. He thought of people he knew in related roles or at companies in line with his target market. He was surprised to find that there were seven with whom he had a trusted relationship. He met with some for coffee and others for lunch throughout a three-week period. He asked them for feedback on his background, his messaging and his brand. He took the list of those he wanted to know to these meetings. He would ask, for example, Do you happen to know John Doe, the VP of Operations at ABC Company? Through this method, he got three yeses. He picked up the phone and then asked for face-to-face meetings. One of those conversations was to John Doe, the VP of Operations at ABC Company (remember; they had never met). It went something like this: Hi, John; my name is Jim Jones. Jane Smith suggested I give you a call. I am on the hunt for a mid-level operations position in retail distribution. Jane thought you would be a good person for me to network with. Do you have a few minutes to talk? He sent emails with his résumé and marketing plans to networking contacts. They went something like this: Hi, Beth. I wanted to touch base with you, since its been awhile since we met at _____ [or talked on date]. I am still on the hunt for a new job opportunity, and want to know whether you have any ideas for me.Ive attached my résumé and marketing plan to give you an update on what Im looking for. Id love to buy you a cup of coffee or lunch and reconnect. Do you have some time next week?Jim Jones He followed up immediately on leads and referrals. One of Jims strengths was in follow-through; and he used this to his advantage in his networking. He impressed people with his immediate and enthusiastic responses. He said it took no more than a few minutes to do soâ€"a small investment for the return in having people remember him in a positive light. He never asked contacts for a job. He was specific in what he wanted from these contacts, and it was always around seeking advice or informationâ€"never a job in itself. He made it his goal to leave every networking conversation with one or more of the following: Advice and information to help him conduct a more efficient, focused campaign An introduction to someone who knew of an existing opening The name of a recruiter, company or organization potentially seeking someone with his skills and qualifications Referrals to people who would perhaps know other people who could help him identify and secure opportunities A follow-up meeting or phone conversation with a contact, providing additional leads or information after that contact had time to go through his/her list of contacts. He made sure that his networking relationships were give and not all take. With each contact Jim asked himself, How can I help this person? He took it a step further, and asked his contacts, How can I help you? He cultivated the habit of being interested in the needs of others who were willing to help him in any way they could. His paying forward ranged from sending new golf balls to a golf enthusiast, to introducing a contact to a person who could help that contacts business development efforts, to simply sending website links on a topic of great interest to a contact. Within just over a month, Jim had achieved great strides in having his network WORK for him! He had a good handle on 1) who he knew; 2) who knew him; and 3) the know-how to tell others what he needed so they could help him. He diligently kept adding to his lists and making connections. Within three months, he landed a new opportunity as Director of Operations with one of his 25 target companies. This position was never advertised. It would have slipped through Jims fingers if he had not tackled his fears and embraced natural networking. Is networking working for you? If not, why? Whats getting in the way? What action steps can you take today to lead you to a yes answer for this question?