Career Coach eNewsletter Issue No. 32 - January - 2005
1. Editorial: Bush's Advisors
2. Career Development Notes: Get Creative! Here are 3 Tips to Help Your Job Search Succeed!
3. Success Stories: Understanding My Strengths & Weaknesses
4. Success Stories 2: Job Interview Skills in South Africa
5. Success Stories 3: Building a Business with Natural Products: Aloe Vera
6. Career Development Notes: Weblogging for Business and Promoting Your Agenda
7. Just for a Laugh!: Translate This! (Killer Biscuits)
1. Editorial: Bush's Advisors
G. W. Bush was depressed that people were saying he was intellectually challenged. So he calls his good friend (and relative) Queen Elizabeth, who says, "Now George, what you need to do is to surround yourself with smart people. Let me show you."
She conference calls Tony Blair in and asks, "Tony, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?" Tony Blair replies, "It's me!" and hangs up.
G.W. Bush then calls Dick Cheney and says, "Dick, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?" And Cheney says, "Wow, that's a tough one. Let me get back to you."
So Cheney calls Colin Powell and says, "Colin, your parents had a baby. It isn't your sister and it isn't your brother. Who is it?" And Colin Powell says, "It's me!"
So Cheney calls Bush and says, "It's Colin Powell."
And Bush says, "No, you idiot! It's Tony Blair!"
2. Career Development Notes: Get creative! Here are 3 tips to help your job search succeed:
- Focus: Looking backward with anger or resentment is a trap. Keep your eyes forward with energy & enthusiasm for future opportunities!
- Be creative: Forge a connection with your interviewer by sharing personal experience, rather than by quoting facts and figures.
- Stay motivated: It's easy to find excuses for not being active in your job search. Develop a daily working plan and stick to it!
NB. Don't forget to keep your curriculum vitae in tip top condition. Make sure you have all your latest achievements on there, succinct and complete with 'WOW, factor'.
If you are not sure how to add 'WOW' to your bottom drawer - join our CV Surgery forum running 'LIVE' every Thursday lunchtime (12 - 1pm). You can ask our team of expert career coaches any *daft question you like about your CV. (everybody else does) In the meantime, you can send us your CV for a FREE review. Can't say fairer than that, can we?.
NB. 'Daft' in Yorkshire dialect is a ubiquitous term referring to sentimental, insubordinate, irreverant or hopelessly inept comments, that are quite sweet really.
3. Success Stories: Understanding My Strengths & Weaknesses (email: 6 January 2005)
Hi Margaret
Happy New Year!
Sorry I haven't been in touch but it's been a seriously hectic 12 months (isn't it always!). How is the business fairing and how are you in yourself?
Since we last spoke I took the job at XXX in Coventry and was very successful. Within 3 months they were looking to promote me. Unfortunately although I enjoyed the job and liked the people I didn't feel the organisation could support my career ambitions (the suggested promotion was reasonable but the next step from there looked virtually impossible). A mixture of antiquated methods, political infighting and a personal feeling that the company was likely to have some problems in the near future made me think it might be time for a change. Fortunately just as these thoughts were going through my mind I was contacted by an agency in London and asked to apply for a position with one of the Hi-Street Banks in Central London.
It was a role as an audit manager in a start up department specialising in providing a more consultative approach to audit and focussing purely on major outsourcing contracts. I was initially not keen on the position and chose not to pursue it, however after a number of phone calls from my prospective boss over the Bank holiday weekend I decided there was no harm in popping in to London for a chat.
Having expressed my concerns at working in central London and the commuting issues I was offered a role that allows me to work from home 2-3 days per week, exceeded my salary expectations and included a full relocation package. I am now living in Kent 20 mins from the sea with the family and settling into a challenging role with a mapped out career path that aims to get me into a senior management role with a blue chip within 2 years (not bad on the CV I hope!). The bonus is that I also get travel opportunities in India, USA, Thailand, France, Spain, Singapore and Australia (and even better, as I organise the team, I get to choose which ones I get involved in!).
It's certainly a big change from 12 months ago when I was fresh out of a financial services company and wondering what the future held.
I'd like to thank you for your assistance in getting me to understand my strengths and weaknesses and how to better present myself in the market place. The whole process over the last 12 months has made me realise that there is a world of opportunity out there and that embracing change can be great fun (although it does has its moments!). I've stuck to my new found principle of only taking my future plans 2 years at a time and if things aren't going to plan, or my plans change that I have the ability to make the difference and keep things on track.
Who knows what the next 12 months will bring!
Very best wishes
Martin
PS They made 850 people redundant 3 months after I left. I'm glad that my business instincts are still in tune...
4.
Success Stories 2: Job Interview Skills in South Africa (email: 28 December 2004)
Dear Margaret
I hope you are well and had a fabulous x-mas. I know it has been quite a while since we last communicated and you must know you’ll always be an inspiration to me.
The message is clear - I was in your website. It looks quite revamped and very informative. I enjoyed the topic on putting 'Working clothing on one’s dreams.' It’s quite thought provoking and very true. Indeed, unless we have done something about these great ideas, we are as good as without them.
Margaret, I must say my job interview skills that I obtained from yourself have been great. I have got to a stage where I feel so much in control at any interview. I recently got myself a job as Corporate Sales Consultant at BMW SA (Financial Services Division) and I will be based at the head office in Midrand (about 25km away from JHB and Pretoria). I will be managing BMW’s relationship with fleet departments of Corporates, Government Departments, Parastatals and Commercial Businesses. I am starting next week Monday 3rd Jan 2005. I will look after the Johannesburg region and there is a new guy who has been employed for Durban and the guy in Cape Town has been there for the past year. In the longer term, Durban and Cape Town will report to me!
BMW is a generally an excellence-driven organisation and you can tell that from their recruitment process. The job was advertised in the career supplement of the South African Sunday Times and more than 300 applicants responded. They then scaled down the number to 10 and I was one of those. I arrived late at the first interview and was the last candidate for the day. I was told because of my lateness, my interview was going to be shorter. What next? I really had to make that impression! Guess what, within half an hour of the interview, the recruitment agency informed me I was to come for psychometrics in the following week. I remembered all that you had taught me about psychometrics!
A week later I was invited for interview with the Financial Director along with two other candidates. I found this one quite tricky in the sense that the guy wanted the 'best fit' out of the three of us, with the BMW culture (whatever this culture is!). I just told myself I would be ‘Abel’and as you instructed - make that a 'mark of excellence' as a product in the market.
It worked just fine because I got a call 3 days later informing me I was being offered the job! I am quite excited about this and look forward to Monday. I know the challenge is there for me and that is what I am looking for. They increased my current package by 20% and I will have commission in addition. (which I currently do not have) I will, of course, also drive a BMW and will change it for a new one every year or at 40,000km, whichever comes first. Not bad at all! The sky remains the limit and I thank you for all the skills you equipped me with!
As you know, I have spent a year with ABSA Bank and they are unhappy with my departure. I was working as Asset Advisor, structuring finance for medium businesses and helping them raise the funding from ABSA. From an HR side there were so many improvements from Standard Bank and their systems are not quite up to speed. Perhaps the takeover by Barclays bank will improve the situation. Again, some units of the bank are still infested with the ancient Afrikaners who just refuse to accept a black man as an equal and who will always do a good job in frustrating a young black professional. At this stage they know quite well there is a rascal called Abel within the system, at almost all the quarters of the bank.
On resignation, my regional director and a rep from Group HR sat with me in an effort to try and keep me. I requested we look at that at a later stage, if at all, and I be released this time as I was not prepared to change my mind. After two hours of discussion, we agreed I was to leave ABSA Bank.
I had a fun-packed x-mas in JHB. I met a group of friends and we had a barbecue at my place and had some drinks. It all went fine.
Take care Margaret!
Regards
Abel
5. Success Stories 3: Building a Business with Natural Products: Aloe Vera
Readers know that I need all the help that I can get and when I learnt that
the stuff they put in toothpaste and use to medicate our drinking water - Fluoride
is an 'intellect supressant,' I decided to take a closer look and at the very least
change my toothpaste.
Intellectual moment: Did you know that Fluoride is one of the most toxic substances
on earth? Did you know that it is captured pollution from phosphate fertilizer
production: Commercial Grade Fluorosilicic Acid and Sodium Fluorosilicate - a
complex recipe of toxic substances that most countries use in pesticides and
rat poison? (My friend in the states says that there is a skull and crossbones
on the US tube.) According to Michael Barbee at www.worldhealth.com
2005 - 'There are NO reliable studies confirming the safety of water fluoridation'.
Always wondered what those little white marks were on my teeth and nails when
I was at school in York. (you know, where the government's Review of Flouride
Research took place in 2003 'In which - important data was omitted or misinterpreted')
It is 'Fluorosis' - a sign that systemic fluoride poisoning is taking place. Says Michael:
'Dental fluorosis appears to serve as a red flag for future bone fractures as well.'
' How nice. More tea Vicar?'
So, I have bought some Aloe Vera toothpaste from Vanessa for all the family, and
it's great. Five days later and I'm feeling more alert and feisty than ever. I can
even programme the new digital SMS messaging cordless.
If you'd like to read about how Vanessa has built a great business for herself
(without any financial risk) supplying people like me with natural products
- then click here. Vanessa is offering the first 10 callers who wish to try
any of her products or who would like to take a look at the business opportunity -
a tube of her amazing fluoride-free toothgels completely free. Don't delay - you are
getting thicker by the mouthwash.
PS. Apart from the fact that it is totally unethical to medicate a person against their will,
it also contravenes the European Directive 2000 Article 3, that says 'Everyone has
a right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity'. For more info - how to
test your water and how to complain.
PPS. Next month, I will tell you what happened when I borrowed my mum's best cashmere
jumper and used lots of the 'new fangled' underarm deodarant/perspirant to disguise my
misdemeanour and Vanessa will tell you about why you should be worried about the
(I knew it) connection between chemicals 'Specially formulated to help leave you feeling fresh
whilst providing 24 hour protection', and breast cancer.
6. Career Development Notes: Weblogging for Business and Promoting Your Agenda
Those of you who have been following this newsletter for a while may have noticed my
obsession with weblogging. I can even hear a few of you going "Tut", Tut, Why can't
she leave it alone?" (For those of you who want to get up to speed - read
- 'Budding Blogs for Business' by Nick Easen, CNN Global) on this site. (not my title)
By the way, Philistines, last year was Year of the Blog!
You see, there is something magical that occurs when my clients 'go live' with their
offering. They are seduced by senior jobs and senior projects, virtually overnight!
' When I try to figure out how it works, I can find no direct causal relationship
between the weblog/site and those 'recruiters' making the offer.
It's happened over a dozen times in the last six months even to the point where some
sites remain in an unfinished state as if the owner has has left whatever they were doing
at the time to fulfill an imperative. ('dust balls' drifting through the deserted space)
It is something to do with envisioning your future, if you can do it, you can make it happen.
A weblog can help you focus on your offering and communicate your availability to the
the universe.
Ed's Note: Don't try to do this without expert help (me) - you might end up like the 'Man from
the Woolamaroo Gazette.' You can read all about it in 'Charlie's Diary' He knows the guy. See also
Boing, Boing - 'Companies That Have Fired People For Blogging.' Get on with your work!
7. Just for a Laugh!: Translate This!
1. Click here
2. In the box Translate text , write: "my mom is nice and cool"
3. Choose "English to Spanish" and press translate.
4. Copy the answer ( the translated text ) again to the box Translate text.
5. Choose "Spanish to English" and press translate.
6. Laugh at the results
Ed's Note: Did you enjoy that? Originally I had a true life
story about a young woman who was suffering from debilitating
fearfulness. But if you took away the punch-line 'Lisa is blonde'.
It was too close for comfort.
Disclaimer:Those of you with high thresholds
for this sort of thing. Can view it here.
Which brings to mind a very famous quote from the 'Dune Trilogy'
by Frank Herbert:
The Bene Gesserit Litany against Fear.
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
NOTE: Don't forget to add "www.careersnet.com" to your whitelist or address book in your e-mail programme, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues!
Margaret Stead at Careersnet helps individuals, executives and business owners market themselves online into new jobs, careers - building customer-employer relationships and increasing their job satisfaction.
She offers personal coaching, workshops, tutorials, classes and reports on the telephone and in one to one meetings that help people just like you do job hunting that gets results. You can learn more about these terrific resources at www.careersnet.com
She's appeared on radio programmes and been interviewed by the FT, Daily Telegraph, been featured in dozens of online and print publications including CNN Global and Yahoo review of Top Careers Sites. Margaret's articles on career coaching, job hunting, outplacement and personal development are regularly published in hundreds of marketing sites on the Web.
Originally from York, Margaret now enjoys the sunshine in the Heart of England and doesn’t miss the tourists at all.
