Category: Your Team (Page 5 of 7)

      The emergence of leadership coaching for executives

      September 4, 2011 /

      Executive coaching is the hot new trend as companies try to maximize the performance of their management teams. Check out this article on coaching from Fortune and consider whether coaching is right for you or for someone on your team.

      Once seen as a last-chance effort to turn around flagging careers, coaches for top talent are going mainstream. They’re being brought in for newly hired senior executives, as well as for newly promoted department heads who suddenly must manage many more people. “Leadership coaching is the hottest thing these days,” says Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O’Clock Club, which has turned some of its outplacement and career coaches into executive coaches because demand has been so strong.

      According to a July 2011 American Management Association survey, almost half of participating companies use coaching to prepare individuals for a promotion or new role. While half of companies provide coaches to midlevel or senior staff only, 38% make them available to anyone. Coaching’s three most common uses, according to the AMA survey: leadership development, remedial performance improvement, and optimizing strong contributors. “A coach is like a personal trainer for business,” says Erika Andersen, author of Being Strategic and coach to many media executives.

      Coaches can run $200 per hour or more, and work can be done face-to-face, on the phone or both.

      Your Business, Your Career, Your Team, Your Workplace

      Is the Economy Making Workers Healthier?

      August 11, 2011 /

      Could the economy really be making workers healthier? According to a CareerBuilder survey, you bet it is!  The survey says:

      47 percent of workers report they have been packing a lunch more often to eat healthier or help save money. When it comes to smoking habits, 44 percent of workers who smoke said they are more likely to quit smoking given today’s economic conditions. In addition, one-in-five said that they have decreased the number of times they smoke during the workday (21 percent) or actually quit altogether (20 percent).

      Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder, states that “Economic stress over the last year has caused some workers to reflect on their habits, and many of them have turned to healthier routines. In addition to helping cut personal costs, employees who limit their smoking and lunching out habits are taking better care of their overall health. This type of ‘better-for-you’ behavior can be encouraged by companies who implement wellness programs, healthy living challenges or smoking cessation support.”

      The survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 4,498 U.S. workers, age 18 and over, employed full-time—not self-employed, and non-government.

      Your Business, Your Career, Your Team, Your Workplace

      Benefits of Volunteer Work

      May 14, 2011 /

       

      Photo Credit: A.S. Zain / Shutterstock.com

      Whether you’re interested in giving back, gaining work experience or filling work gaps, volunteer work has many benefits. For starters, as a volunteer worker, you can gain valuable work experience that can help you begin building a resume.  For students, volunteering full-time during the summer months or on weekends during the regular semester will impress future employers and help you stand out from the crowd. For non-students, volunteering anytime will strengthen your resume and help you obtain skills that can lead to advancement opportunities.

      Next, volunteering can actually help you find potential employers. When you volunteer, you’re always meeting new people. These people may give you job leads. By volunteering for programs related to your career field, you are also more likely to meet important contacts or other professionals with the same interests.

      Volunteer work can help you gain valuable skills. For example, if you’re working for a non-profit, you might learn all about fundraising and develop skills related to working with groups. You might handle donations, help manage projects, and organize events. An organized candidate with management skills and the ability to work with large groups is a great asset to hiring companies.

      While working with non-profits can help you gain valuable experience and skills, other fields can do the same. Other fields that may be open to volunteer workers are:

      • -Education
      • -Disaster Relief
      • -Community Development
      • -Research
      • -Medical/Health
      • -Construction
      • -Administration
      • -Land Conservation
      • -Parks & Recreation

      To apply for a volunteer position at any given company, all you have to do is contact the company’s human resources department by email or phone and inquire about volunteer opportunities. Most companies have volunteer, internship or other similar programs. If they don’t, they will likely be open to the idea. The human resources department will tell you how to apply if opportunities are available or if they would be willing to consider it. If opportunities are seasonal, the department will give you information about the best times to apply. You will have the option to apply online or via snail mail.

      You can also search for volunteer opportunities by visiting any of the following websites:

      Good Luck! 

      Your Career, Your Education, Your Network, Your Team, Your Workplace

      Benefits of Hiring a Career Coach

      March 29, 2011 /

      Plan Into Action

      A career coach provides expert advice, support, and guidance to individuals seeking a career in any given field. A professional career coach may provide guidance and support to individuals that are just entering the workforce or those seeking a career change. Career coaches are objective listeners that have the ability to assess where clients are now and how clients can get where they want to be. To accomplish this, a career coach will developing a plan, goals, and action steps customized to each individual.

      Top career coaches typically have an advanced degree, more than 10 years of experience in the areas of business, teaching, or other leadership roles, and a proven record of accomplishment in their respective career fields.

      During a typical session, a career coach will:

      • -Cover resume and cover letter writing
      • -Go over interview preparation and execution
      • -Teach you how to write interview follow-up letters with impact
      • -Assess your skills, experience and interests
      • -Cover common mistakes you might be making
      • -Discuss strategies for strengthening your job search activities
      • -Discuss proactive tactics for developing meaningful job leads
      • -Discuss strategies for starting and/or growing a valuable network
      • -Develop tactics for maximizing your network of professional contacts
      • -Teach you how to stay memorable throughout the interview process
      • -Cover solutions for perfecting follow-up interviews
      • -Teach you how to negotiate salary and benefits
      • -Help you build and maintain confidence as a jobseeker
      • -Teach you how to stay memorable throughout the interview process
      • -Cover solutions for perfecting follow-up interviews
      • -Teach you how to negotiate salary and benefits

      After all of these areas have been covered, you can expect overall improvement of your quality of life, clarity of career and job search goals, enhanced self-awareness and direction, and better career management skills.

      Hiring a career coach can be expensive, but if you hire the right career coach, their services will prove invaluable. Career coaching services can range from $125 to $500 per hour or from $375 to $3,000 per package. If you’re still on the fence about hiring a career coach, you can decide whether or not you need one by considering the following:

      • -You need help crafting a resume or cover letter
      • -You’re bored or frustrated with your job, but have no idea what other work you may be qualified to do
      • -You’re sending out resumes, but the phone just won’t ring
      • -You need someone to answer to keep you on track
      • -Your career is at a standstill
      • -You need help with setting yourself apart from other job seekers
      • -You’re open to new ideas and open to hearing some harsh truths about yourself
      • -You want to move to the next step in your career and become successful

      Career Coach

      How to Find a Top Career Coach

      One of the safest ways to find a top career coach is by referral. You should ask friends and people in your network for names and contact information. Rarely will the people in your network or friends steer you in the wrong direction. Check professional organizations for career coaches such as Career Coach Academy, Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches, and Career Directors International. If you can’t find any referrals and you decide to search online, just make sure you search for coaches with verifiable certifications, credentials, and references.

      You should also make sure the career coach:

      • -Has been in business for more than two years
      • -That he or she is current on career issues
      • -Specializes in job search services
      • -Is someone that understands personal branding

      Remember, you can learn all you need to know about your career coach during an initial consultation. And yes, the best career coaches will be more than happy to schedule a free consultation.

      Your Career, Your Network, Your Team

      Are Work Relationships Really That Important?

      February 15, 2011 /

      Business_People_Socializing

      Just when you thought the workplace was supposed to be for, well—work, someone comes along and says otherwise. Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. and author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office 101: Unconscious Decisions Women Make That Sabotage Their Career, claims that workers need to build relationships on the job in order to advance their careers. She also mentions that it only takes 5% of your day, which is around 20 minutes or so a day, to build strong 360-degree relationships. How? Frankel provides the following tips on how to work on relationship building without neglecting your responsibilities at work:

      -Take a moment to compliment someone on a particular accomplishment.
      -During a business phone call.
      -On the way to or from the parking lot.
      -Over lunch (even if it’s lunch at your desk).
      -Before, during or after a meeting.
      -In a brief doorway conversation.
      -After work at professional association meetings.

      If you’re confused about how this can help advance your career in today’s shaky workplace, it’s probably a good idea to pick up a copy of Frankel’s book. Let us know what you think.

      Your Career, Your Network, Your Team, Your Workplace

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