Peak Careers

Professional Development for Career Practitioners

Career

LinkedIn: Keeping it Simple in 15 Minutes a Day

by 17 Comments

So many of my clients, and even other career practitioners, often say they don’t have time for LinkedIn…or don’t know what to do. Well, there are lots of great blogs out there on what to do, but here are my thoughts on how to keep it simple in 15 minutes a day.

MONDAY

Go through your contacts and identify one person who is important to you in your 1st connections (everyone you are connected to is a 1st connection. Their connections are your 2nd connections) and reach out to one of your 1st connections via email.

*Notice I did not say to send them a LinkedIn Message. Many people do not check their LinkedIn messages so send them a real email.

If you don’t have it, (updated Sept 2019 to reflect changes)

  1. Go to their LinkedIn profile
  2. Below their name and headline you will see “Contact info” – click on that
  3. Most people should have an email here. If not, move on to another person

Sample email:

[Read more…] about LinkedIn: Keeping it Simple in 15 Minutes a Day

Career Credentials…What are they? What is that new NCDA credential, CCSP? Why should you get one?

by 10 Comments

NOTE: This article is my understanding and my personal thoughts on the new CCSP certification. Although I am on the CCSP Advisory Council for NCDA, this article is not affiliated with NCDA, only my attempt to answer the many questions I have received from a variety of people.

The world of work has changed over the years, and now certifications and credentials are more important than ever. Nearly every profession out there has professional standards and with those standards are often credentials that tell the consumer you have met a minimum requirement in training. It means something to the consumer.

Career services is no different. We need to have standards for our own credibility and to improve our professional reputation in the eyes of the consumers.

The National Career Development Association (NCDA) has recently created five (5) credentials to represent that many different types of professionals who deliver career services. I will focus my thoughts here on the Certified Career Service Provider (CCSP).

[Read more…] about Career Credentials…What are they? What is that new NCDA credential, CCSP? Why should you get one?

What’s the most important thing to remember when interviewing?

by Leave a Comment

The one thing you must do when you interview is be authentic. If you are looking for a good fit and hope to work there for awhile, you need to make a brutally honest assessment about the company and how you will fit in.  Being authentic in the interview allows them to also determine if you are a good fit for them.

Articulate your strengths.
To prepare for the interview, the first thing you should focus on is being able to describe what strengths you bring to the company and how those strengths make you unique. Really sit down and analyze past experience and what you did and how you did it. Describe your strengths in either a bullet format or paragraphs. Then take this to three friends and three co-workers (past or current) and ask them to comment on them. You’ll probably be surprised as to what they can add to this value-added statement you have developed.

This value-added statement describing your strengths is what makes you real and unique. Stay true to this at all times in your interview and have examples of things you did or accomplished that support each strength.

Be clear about what is important to you.
Know your values. What you are looking for in work and how that fits you as a person. If working as a part of a team is important…say it. If you like to work on projects independently but like to get regular feedback from your supervisor, ask for it. If you want to be doing work that positively affects the lives of others, be clear.

Understand your work values and what are “must haves” in the job and share that in the interview where it makes sense. It could be at the end when you ask questions of them, i.e. Can you tell me about my supervisor’s style of giving regular feedback, or it may come out in your answers. Regardless, be true to yourself.

Show your passion.
Employers want to know what makes you tick. When you have a passion for an area that can help your employer solve problems…they are going to like that. Curiosity is an integral component of passion. If you are curious about something, it shows your interests. Approach your interviews from a curiosity angle. What does this company do that matches my passions? How can my interests fit into this job?

Be able to state, the things I love to do are _________. I get lost in my work when I ________.

When you can demonstrate your curiosity and passion about your work, you will be showing your authentic self.

Being authentic in the interview takes lots of self-reflection and if you can focus on these three areas, strengths, values, and passions, you will find the job and company that fits you best. Remember the interview is a mutual selection process.  Just as the employer is looking for the right person, you want to ensure the fit is right for you too. And when that happens, both sides of the interview are happier.

Read more articles on interviewing here. https://peak-careers.com/tag/interviewing/

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a monthly newsletter for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You can also receive the career practitioners newsletter which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more. 

3 Reasons to Practice Mindfulness at Work

by 2 Comments

Sunrise over Honolulu

In our ever-busy world that we live in, it is important that we find ways to slow ourselves down as a way to better serve ourselves and clients. Our ability to manage the tsunami of information coming into us daily and hourly is inversely linked to the quality of services we provide. If we are constantly chasing emails, tweets, and other social media messages, we are not taking the time to slow down and “think”.  Yes, just “think” instead of reacting.

“Mindfulness is deliberately paying full attention to what is happening around you and within you – in your body, heart, and mind. Mindfulness is awareness without criticism or judgement.”                        

From Jan Chozen Bays, Author of  How To Train a Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness

Here are three reasons why you should practice mindfulness as a career practitioner.

[Read more…] about 3 Reasons to Practice Mindfulness at Work

Journaling: Taking ‘Fuzzy Thinking’ to Concrete Ideas in Career Development

by Leave a Comment

As a career coach/counselor, do you ask  your clients to journal? I do occasionally because I believe the process of taking ideas out of their heads and putting them on paper can be a very powerful activity.

“A goal not written is only a wish.” I believe this is true in the career development process…write it down and think it through.

Personally I try to journal every day, first thing in the morning. I choose to free-style it and just write about what is important to me that day. It clarifies the ideas in my head and takes them from fuzzy thinking to something concrete. I also think it helps to journal on a regular schedule so it becomes part of your day.

[Read more…] about Journaling: Taking ‘Fuzzy Thinking’ to Concrete Ideas in Career Development

Journaling survey

by Leave a Comment

Journaling Survey Results from career counselors / coaches /career services providers

May 2017

Roughly 84 respondents

PERSONAL JOURNALING

  1. How many people do personal journaling?

Yes- 23

No – 29

Occasionally – 32

2. Journal on Theme or Free Style?

Free Style – 37

Both – 3

Theme – 12

n/a or skipped – 28

  1. Comments:

Both.  Start off with Things I am Grateful For and Inspiring Moments (inspiring me and how I hope I inspired  another) then Freestyle

Gratitude journaling, self reflection, business planning, affirmations.

Freestyle, I would like to incorporate more creativity and I have printed off articles that help one do that, I simply have not found the time to give it a try.

Free style.  I try to write three pages each morning.  Themes usually emerge.  The idea is to simply write what comes into my head, as a way to clear my head.  The first 15 minutes are usually pretty messy and not too meaningful.  After that I end up seeming to explore a topic more fully.  It usually centers on what I want to do on a project OR an analysis of something that has happened in the past.  It is very cathartic and takes about 40 minutes.
I do not get it in every morning, but miss it when I don’t.

I use both freehand writing and themes because journaling is all about what you are feeling and is not meant to be so structured that you do not have flexibility within your thoughts, your time or your theme.

CLIENT JOURNALING

  1. Assign clients journaling assignments?

Yes- 15

No – 48

Occasionally – 20

  1. What prompts or questions do you use?

I don’t so much assign as I do suggest. I tell clients and workshop participants it can be useful to carry around a notebook to jot down ideas as they occur and/or to make lists of things that are interesting, that they like doing, that they don’t like doing, etc. The main idea is to get the information out of their heads and on to paper. I find that some people like to write and are more likely to “journal” as opposed to just jotting down notes or making lists so I leave it up to them how they will use it.

Questions such as “if money and time weren’t an issue, what would you do with your day?” Basically look for ways to get them to reflect on certain aspects. I also encourage gratitude journaling.

Looking at your change wheel, write about one of the changes that has impacted you most.

“Noticing” – in specific situations, observe yourself – move toward, away, with? Why? Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.

I often use quotes (Dr. Who, Winnie the Pooh, authors, superheroes, and inspirational speakers

Depends on what they are dealing with. Sometimes it’s the items I journal about. Goals, identity, what’s coming up in the future and what to do to prepare, I also buy many journals with prompts and use those.

I have a worksheet I designed that takes them through their ideal workday.

N/A But thank you for giving me the idea to share with my students, using journaling as a form of problem solving.

Stories of accomplishments to mine for skills

My students are asked to answer focused career questions during the semester. Things like How does self awareness connect with your career choices? What steps have you taken to understand your choices?

I don’t propose topics; it’s more about how they’re feeling, what they’re doing in their job search, etc. I am hoping they’ll express their anger, frustration, sadness on paper than in public. Which is not to say they don’t have a safe place with the job club.

I have my first year students in my career development class.write journals. Usually it is more of a reflection about what they are learning about themselves as result of an assessment they took, or a class speaker, etc.

Sometimes I suggest students get in the habit of reflecting on their day by writing down everything that happened during the day. I always stress, that it doesn’t matter how insignificant it is, write it down. Journaling is especially important when students are angry or feeling down. I tell them they can write anything they need to help get their feelings out. They can shred their paper afterwards if they would like or they can keep it and read it later when they are feeling better.

Identifying their support team members. Track time use over a week to look at how they are using time

The prompts/ questions are determined collaboratively with the client and targeted to the career concern.

We do ask WorkReady students to journal during the course of the program and occasionally I ask my clients but most of the people I deal with are not going to journal – they are living in poverty and have other things they need to focus on.

Good question. It really depends,. If people are unhappy or angry in their work I ask them to journal about what made them angry or unhappy that day and what made them feel good – and then ideas on why that is and how make the next day have more good things in it. I also use journaling to have clients explore an ideal job or work environment, or the next steps in their career. The questions are highly customized for the client and their situation – no cookie cutter questions. Sorry!

An interesting idea….particularly for some students who perhaps need more attention than others – but this would allow them to do much on their own…hmmmm

It varies . . . but it would often be related to things that they enjoy doing; dreams and aspirations; and areas where they see growth and change.

I let my students write free style – they have to reflect on their experience, their observations, what they are learning about themselves, how their experience ties in with their professional development, etc.

I’m big on daily to do lists which include timeout from electronics, exercises, randomly analyzing jobs, getting out of bed at a specific time and doing three things immediately. 1-make your bed, 2-eat breakfast, review to do list……plan you day….. I have found that those in a slump or heading that way need to drive their days with a plan…..binging on Netflix is not part of the plan….. Helping a friend self-manage this aspect of his daily job search activities….

Topics to help them observe trends in their lives. I also use topics/question to address a concern when he/she is sending mixed messages.

I encourage self-reflection

Although I haven’t yet used this, I am intrigued by this idea and would be interested in learning more about how you use this!

A common assignment is take a week to notice 3 positive things a day. Reflect on how it felt to focus on the positive in our lives. Sometimes I will ask individuals to journal about their values and how they incorporate them into their personal and professional lives.

What are you doing when you feel happy? What are you doing when you feel miserable? What are you curious about? What is your dream job? Dream Company?(this one is really tough for the international students I work with)

We set one focus per week depending on their individual needs and they journal on that focus throughout the week

I don’t so much assign as I do suggest. I tell clients and workshop participants it can be useful to carry around a notebook to jot down ideas as they occur and/or to make lists of things that are interesting, that they like doing, that they don’t like doing, etc. The main idea is to get the information out of their heads and on to paper. I find that some people like to write and are more likely to “journal” as opposed to just jotting down notes or making lists so I leave it up to them how they will use it.

I don’t but I probably should.  It would be to Journal self-reflective thoughts at the end of the day.  A way for them to process all they’ve learned all day. I feel this better prepares you for the challenges tomorrow brings.

Describe their ideal job or journal 15 minutes a day about what you want in your next career or journal 15 minutes a day about what you want your future to look like

If they’re job hunting, journal about people who interview them, the questions they are asked & their response.  also the behavior of & comments about employers.  basically this is help them remember each situation for future reference.

I create a journal and guidebook that allow the person flexibility in their journaling. I ask questions without asking a question because the question is in the form of a statement and the person journaling can interrupt it obey what they need at that time.

I don’t assign…but recommend. Some clients cringe at the thought of journaling, recalling past high school English class requirements. Discussing and ‘assigning’ a personal Vision Board is as close as I get to a self-reflection exercise (most young people enjoy the project). Would love to read your feedback for new journaling ideas and approaches.

Either a brain dump or a prompt, usually something wild to get their head out of the box.

Read my blog on 3 reasons I suggest journaling to my clients.

Look for our recorded video interview May 15 with

career coaches who assign journaling to clients.

Jim Peacock is the Principal at Peak-Careers Consulting and writes a monthly newsletter for career practitioners. Peak-Careers offers discussion-based online seminars for career practitioners focused on meeting continuing education needs for CCSP, GCDF and BCC certified professionals as well as workshops for career practitioners and individual career coaching.

Sign up here to receive my  TOP 10 TIPS WHEN WORKING WITH AN UNDECIDED PERSON.  You can also receive the career practitioners newsletter which includes a variety of career topics, industry news, interesting events, and more.