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Time Management with purpose

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Time management with purpose. Be true to yourself and manage your time to reflect it.

Recently I participated in a three-week webinar series by Dr. Spencer “Skip” Niles called “Reclaim your soul from work: Making choices that honour your authentic self.” This was very thought-provoking.

Skip describes your “soul” as your highest, best, and truest self. Your authentic self. He presented how by getting in touch with your “soul” you pay more attention to intuition, imagination, relationships, hope, and compassion at work.

time management with purpose

As I reflect on the webinar it really got me thinking about how so many people are frustrated with the tsunami of information that overwhelms them at work and home. It is so easy to get caught up with just being busy every day at work, focused on the routines of work, achievement, control, and the rationality of work. As you think about your own time management, make sure you stay true to the ‘authentic you’, your ‘true self’ so that you get the things done that are your priorities…not someone else’s. Do your time management with purpose.

Start now

For many people, September is the beginning of the work year. Many people work at a school or college, have children who are going back to school, or they have taken all their summer vacations are getting back into the swing of work again. So why not try something new right now?  Try time management with purpose.

How do I do this?

One thing I do is make a ‘To Do’ list with only three things written on it that I want to accomplish each day.

Yep, three things on my ‘To Do’ list.

These are my priority each day. When and if I get them done, I can move on to others.

I choose the most important projects each day based on what my “true self” feels is important. I am going to do things that fulfill my purpose and goals and make them a priority. I keep my long-term goals posted so I don’t lose track of them and make sure my daily “to do’s”are helping me get to the long-term goals.

With only three things to look at, it is easy to determine if they indeed “feed my soul” and help me to stay focused on what is important as I “reclaim my soul at work”.

Do you manage your time daily to reflect your ‘true self’?
Are you reflecting the ‘authentic you’ in your daily work?
If so, how do you do it?

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. 

Peak Careers - Professional Development for Careers

The Five Most Common Interview Mistakes

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Did you ever wonder what they are?

Well, I did.  So I created a survey and asked career practitioners and recruiters what they thought. Here is what I learned.

interview mistakes

Interview Mistakes #1:
Not doing the research strategically –or at all. 

By far candidates not doing the research on the company was the number 1 of 5 interview mistakes.  “It’s only a phone interview, I will wing it” was one quote that was shared in the survey.  This continues to amaze me as there are so many ways to research a company now: company website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more. Yes, this takes time but it is clearly one way to set yourself apart from the rest of the people when you do it.

Career Practitioner tip: Help your clients see the importance and benefits of the research — and doing it well.

What should they be looking for?

  • The employer’s objectives in hiring.
  • What are their ‘pain points’?
  • What problems does this position solve?
  • What is the mission and values of the employer? (i.e if they value volunteer work, make sure it is on your resume).
  • Who works there and what do they like about it? (Use LinkedIn to try and identify people who work there now or worked there in the past, and then see if you can find their email to contact directly to learn about company culture).

Interview Mistakes #2:
Lack of Preparation & Reflection

Preparing for the interview entails a number of things from really reflecting on what the company is looking for, anticipating interview questions and your answers, to working on articulating how you solve their problems. Too many candidates did not read the job description closely enough for skills and expectations. Once you know what the employer is looking for, then you must be able to articulate your skills to solve their “pain points”. Often candidates simply can not “sell” his/her talents and skills to the interview team clearly enough to convince them to hire him/her.

Career Practitioner tip: Work with your clients to clearly define the top five or six essential skills they have to offer the company. Each person is unique and often cannot see their own strengths. “This is easy…everyone can do this.” “Nope, no one can do it like you” is my response. (Check out my webinar on Developing Value-Added Statements for Your Clients).

Interview Mistakes #3:
The Wrong Mindset

It is not what the candidate gains from the position, but what the candidate brings to the company. (Back to the value-added statement). Our clients really need to think about this position from the employer’s point of view. Put themselves in the shoes of the interviewers and reflect on what they are looking for. And then give it to them. When working with college students, I was constantly hearing them say in their mock interview, “I will get so much out of this internship.” Wrong. Most employers don’t care what you will get out of this. They want to know what value you bring. Even interns are expected to add value to their experiences.

Career Practitioner tip:  Help your clients change their perspective of the process and really try and understand what the company and the interviewers are looking for. Focus on their 5 or 6 essential skills that add value to the company, in particular identifying where those skills solve company “pain points”.

Interview Mistakes #4:
Unprepared for Behavioral Questions

Behavioral questions are fairly common now. Employers are looking for ‘stories’ that demonstrate your thinking, action, and/or skills you used in the past. If you did good work in the past, you most likely will do similar work in the future. Many interviewers found the candidates not prepared to answer this type of question.

Career Practitioner tip: Work with your clients on having at least 5 stories of accomplishments or successes that highlight their skills told in the SAR model (Describe the Situation, the Action steps, and the Results). These are also called STAR or PAR models. Many of these stories can be adapted to answer a wide variety of questions. This article at The Muse is a great place to start practicing answers to some common behavioral questions. (The Muse).

Interview Mistakes #5:
Not Answering Questions Effectively

This was an interesting one where people were either:

  • Not answering the question…possibly not listening intently enough
  • Rambling on…way too much information
  • Too short of an answer
  • Not able to answer the simple question of “Tell me about yourself and why you are interested in this position?” (What they really mean is “Tell me about yourself in the context of this position.”)

Career Practitioner tip:  Mock interviews are so important for many people. We need to make sure our clients are sending the message that they are sensitive to and aware of company culture. We need to encourage our clients to do their research on the company across all their social media platforms. (Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance).

Interview Mistakes: Miscellaneous

Here are few of the other common mistakes that were mentioned by a few people:

  • Not having thoughtful or insightful questions for the company at the end
  • Checking their smartphones (not too smart I’d say 🙂
  • No follow up after the interview
  • Too casual, treating the interviewer as if they are already a friend
  • Over disclosure of information

NOTE: Special thanks to all of you who completed my survey on interviewing which was the core of this blog, and my blog on interview trends. 

As always, I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this topic.

What do you see as the biggest mistakes people make during an interview?

Watch this Peak-Careers interview with two professionals discuss trends and common interviewing mistakes they see. (Watch the interview)

Read my other blogs on interviewing here.

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. 

Peak Careers - Professional Development for Careers

Interviewing Trends You Need To Be Aware Of

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First off, thanks to all of you who responded to my survey on interviewing trends sent out in June. The second part of that survey on ‘biggest mistakes in interviewing’ will come out next.

Career practitioners need to stay current on interviewing trends so we can help our clients/students.

interviewing trends

One thing I see in the results of the survey is that things have not changed too much in the past few years. Yet some people are still surprised about the process…and that is not good for them. Helping our clients be prepared for this process is so important.

Interviewing Trends #1. Use of technology in the process.

There are many more interviews being done using Skype or Zoom. There may be an initial phone interview to screen out applicants followed up with a video interview before they bring people to a live interview.

Career Practitioner tip: Make sure your clients are prepared for this type of interview. They need to be made aware of lighting, background, the height of the computer monitor (eye level view), pay attention to noises and possible interruptions.

Many employers are now using tools such as Hirevue which is more of a ‘digital video interview’. They send a link to a site where you have three to five questions to answer in an allotted time frame. You log in, the questions come up, you answer them, and then move on to the next question. You are essentially talking to yourself and recording your answers.

Career Practitioner tip: Just like mock interviews, this is something we should practice with our clients. Talking to ‘no one’ could be very difficult for lots of people. How do you create a positive, emotional, authentic feel when you are simply talking to a screen? Radio DJ’s do this all the time but it takes practice.

As a side note here, engineers and physical science positions are often asked to “whiteboard problems” out so the companies can see the process they are using.

Career Practitioner tip: This is not an area I am familiar with, so I would have to seek assistance with this one.  Does anyone have any advice to share on this topic?

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Stressed at Work? Here’s Why You Should Write a Gratitude Journal

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The power of a gratitude journal.
Did you know it can reduce stress at work?
Yep. And there is plenty of science to prove it.
Gratitude journal

I just finished reading Maria Shiver’s book, I’ve Been Thinking… Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life, a wonderfully uplifting book to read in these trying times. One of her many recommendations is keeping a gratitude journal and beginning each day by reflecting on all the things you are grateful for. (Read my book review of it here).

In the Greater Good Magazine, Robert Emmons explains that a gratitude journal can help you:

Other research from the Science of Happiness online class I took a few years ago speaks to the fact that emotionally healthy people exhibit a ratio of “negative thoughts” to “positive thoughts”. I can’t find the exact number but it is something like 3:1 ratio. By writing a gratitude journal you counteract negative thoughts with positive ones...and then reap the benefits of positivity. The gratitude journal focuses your thinking on positive thoughts and actually reduces the number of negative words you write and think about.

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Why you need to think like an entrepreneur.

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You are adding value to the marketplace, but can you describe it?
think like an entrepreneur
———-Think like an entrepreneur———-

Whether you want to start your own career consulting business or not, I recommend you think like an entrepreneur. I know a number of you have thought about moving out of higher education, or government, or K-12 education, or where ever you currently work and would like to work for yourself. But even if you don’t plan to go into consulting, there is value in viewing yourself in this light.

Here are some things to consider.

What is your value?

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Respecting all Career Pathways

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There are many career pathways to success.

career pathways

Our job as career coaches and practitioners is to help our students and clients discover a career by exploring career pathways that match their strengths and interests. Then to explore all the career pathways on how to get there, whether it is an apprenticeship, bachelors degree, trade school, or certificate.

All too often, I hear people say they will go to college and figure it out there. That is a very expensive and time-consuming way to do career exploration. I do get the sense that the “college for all” mentality is slowing down, but we still have a long way to go. The message that everyone should go to college to be successful has hurt our economy a couple different ways.

  1. Many people attended college who should not have been there and incurred lots of debt that will need to be paid back.
  2. Those same people could have been working during that time and making money.
  3. Many of those people would have been happier in trades and technical positions which are in need of people.

One problem, in my opinion, is that we have too many colleges in our country fighting over the same 18-year-olds. The college’s motivation is to fill seats at their college, not to help these people discover their best career pathways. We have begun to see higher education institutions closing down and I think we will see more.

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