By Lamar J. Morgan
Employment - exceptional qualifications are no longer enough
Contact Lamar today. When it comes to pursuing a better future, being qualified is no longer adequate. This is a tough pill for most people in career transition to swallow.
Why is it so tough? Because most of us have been taught to present our qualifications when we try to sell ourselves for a job. Unfortunately, what most of us have been taught to do most of our life in the business world is no longer viable. It’s not enough because there are many other equally-qualified candidates.
We have all been taught to be proud of our qualifications. Indeed, we often wear our qualifications as a badge of honor. After all, we have been taught for years to have employers focus on our qualifications when applying for a job. This was the only way most of us knew how to search for a better future. Yes, being qualified used to be enough to be considered and hired for a job when there were candidate and skill shortages. But, that time has now passed.
Why is it so tough? Because most of us have been taught to present our qualifications when we try to sell ourselves for a job. Unfortunately, what most of us have been taught to do most of our life in the business world is no longer viable. It’s not enough because there are many other equally-qualified candidates.
We have all been taught to be proud of our qualifications. Indeed, we often wear our qualifications as a badge of honor. After all, we have been taught for years to have employers focus on our qualifications when applying for a job. This was the only way most of us knew how to search for a better future. Yes, being qualified used to be enough to be considered and hired for a job when there were candidate and skill shortages. But, that time has now passed.
Teamwork - especially when looking for work, clients or customers
To find a better life in a dysfunctional marketplace and stay on top of the onslaught of changes that seem never-ending, most of us need to change our approach. That is to say, we no longer go about this search alone. Instead, we think “team.” Everyone needs a team of support.
Question: Where can you go to successfully seek and find teammates?
I recommend using a business networking group. Where can you find a good business networking group that DOES NOT require the following: 1) dues, 2) fees, 3) mandatory meetings?
Answer: The Business Connection.
The Business Connection has widespread resources through social media networks like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Meetup.com.
This free business networking group is ready-and-willing to assist you. There are weekly coffee meetups spread all over South Florida. See the Google Map I created to help you find a coffee meetup near you -- The Business Connection Map.
Become the CEO of your own life, with a team to back you up
Basically speaking, each individual today needs to become the CEO of his or her own life. However, that does not mean you must do ALL the legwork that is required. On the contrary, it means you come up with a plan to outsource a portion of what you need to accomplish. Yes, you get other people to help you achieve your goals.
How is that done? This is accomplished by volunteering to help some of those “other folks” achieve their goals... first. Believe it or not, you really can become a multi-tasker for the needs of others as well as yourself. Consequently, when they win, you also win. This concept has many names - including my own, netweaving; pay-it-forward (from the film), the “ethics of reciprocity” and The Golden Rule. Many believe it to be a cornerstone principle of what today is called, "the connection economy." A good place to learn how this works is “The ‘Better Together’ Linkedin Group.”
Time is ONE resource you have that is limited and non-renewable
It is incumbent upon you to maximize the effectiveness of ‘time.’ Spend some of that time in self re-education. Among the books I recommend you read are:
- Jason Womack’s Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger and Make More
- Alan Axelrod’s Office Superman
- Bradley J. Sugar’s Buying Customers
- Joshua Waldman’s Job Searching with Social Media for Dummies
Technology - time marches on
There was a time when we did not need computers and cell phones to do our work. But, that time is gone. Today, you not only need to own the right equipment, but you need to know how to use it in such a way that it becomes a slave to your needs - not the other way around.
Basic communication by email
The process for improvement begins at your computer’s email inbox. If you do not have a program managing the content you want and deleting the content you do not want, I recommend
UnRoll.Me. Organizing your computer inbox is an important first-step in bringing your search for a better business life under control.
Online tools and resources provide help you really need
01 - JibberJobber
When it comes to online tools designed to help you search for a better future, I highly recommend
JibberJobbler.com. This is much more than a spreadsheet for your data. This is a customer relationship management system for your entire business life. Here you have the added benefit of instructional videos to help train you in the use of the system. Keep in mind, this is not simply a tool for people in career transition. This is an online resource that can prove beneficial to people who already have an employer and are relentless in their search for something even better.
02 - Nimble
Another helpful tool is called Nimble.com. Nimble will combine data from all your social networks and deliver it back to you upon your request. This online CRM system has the ability to act as your
personal administrative assistant. It can actually save you time and money in managing that community of support you need as the CEO of your business life.
03 - 1-Page Proposal
There was a time when all you needed to garner a better future was a paper resume’ and a cover letter. That time too, is gone. Today, you had better learn how to craft a one-page proposal
regarding your value to the marketplace. To learn how to do that, visit 1-Page.com. Once you have written a one-page proposal, you need feedback to make it even better. To get a community of help
to improve that proposal, join the One-Page Proposal Linkedin Group on Linkedin. Just submit your proposal to that online audience for review as a Discussion item.
04 - Press release
If you have never thought about crafting an online press release about your value to the marketplace, I highly encourage it. Make no mistake, an online press release can benefit anyone seeking an audience of attention a great deal more good than a paper press release. Why? Because an online press release has the potential of having an unlimited shelf life.
A press release in a daily newspaper is limited the day of publication. A press release in a monthly magazine is limited to a month. But, an online press release is news that NEVER has to disappear from the eyes of the public. So long as the release receives feedback in the form of comments, the public is going to be able to find it via an online search engine. And, why is that? Because those comments are automatically processed by search engine spiders to ALL major search engines beginning with Google.
But, that is not all - especially if you choose to use Examiner.com as your online publication for press release distribution. With Examiner.com, you get to include more than just text and a photo in the press release. You also get to include a slideshow and a video.
- The slideshow is made possible by simply sending between 5 and 20 JPEGs.
- The video is made possible by providing a Youtube link or its embed code.
05 - Share buttons
In addition, you benefit from SHARE buttons in networks like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest and Google+. To see how this works, take a look at an article I posted for the CEO of Broward SCORE in South Florida - click here.
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Lamar Morgan is a small business columnist and collaborative evergreen marketer. Through his firm, he creates marketing tools that do not get thrown away. To learn more about Lamar's background, visit his LinkedIn profile. To learn more about his company, Synergistic Business Marketing, visit his LinkedIn company profile. To learn more about SBM's "Better Together Approach, " visit Synergistic Business Marketing - Marketing Florida & The USA with Lamar J. Morgan.
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