http://directyourcareer.com/blog from MEA Strategic Solutions, LLC Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:48:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/performance-appraisals-should-be-boring-not-a-surprise.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/performance-appraisals-should-be-boring-not-a-surprise.html#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:10:56 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/?p=15 For many years, I have been against annual or semi-annual performance appraisals, sometimes called reviews.  The idea that once a year you and your boss sit down face to face and talk about how you did the entire previous year just seems unnatural.   The business guru Dr. W. Edward Deming agrees with me. Surprise!! I have had no bad experiences with reviews.  I haven’t had a bad review or a surprise review.  I simply believe that there is little if any value in this annual display of power whereby you are talked to by your boss about what should be discussed every single day of your career.  I cannot imagine what would happen if your boss actually said “Bill, on October 13th at 3:45, you came back a few minutes late from your break.  On January 3rd, the spreadsheet you gave me hand an error in it.  So, I have to give you a low grade, and therefore no raise.” ******************Advertisement********************************* Tired of sending out resumes with no response? I can help! Download The Professional Guide to Creating Killer Resumes Step by step instructions on how to create a professional resume! ************************************************************** Could you imagine the surprise?  Why wouldn’t he [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/performance-appraisals-should-be-boring-not-a-surprise.html/feed 0 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/fitness-physical-emotional-and-spiritual.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/fitness-physical-emotional-and-spiritual.html#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:36:38 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/?p=34 One of the secrets to Turbo Charge your Career is being fit. I am not talking about joining a gym necessarily. I am talking about getting physically, emotionally, and spiritually fit. Pump Me Up To be physically fit, all you need to do is eat food that is good for you. You know what that means. If not, go to http://thetennisdad.com/blog and my son Ryan will help you. Also, it means getting enough sleep, and limiting your alcohol consumption. I recommend you quit alcohol completely, but moderation is fine as well. And stop smoking. Today. For exercise, walk around the block to get your heart rate up. Use it or lose it!! Emote with me baby The next key is emotional fitness. This is a complex subject that I address in my book, but basically it means clearing up all of your emotional baggage. Address your relationship problems. Apologize to those you have hurt, get over the men or women who have hurt you, and resolve to address all future mistakes immediately. There is a lot to this to process, but making amends and dealing with mistakes quickly is very important to emotional well-being. I See Dead People The part [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/fitness-physical-emotional-and-spiritual.html/feed 0 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/dress-for-success.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/dress-for-success.html#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:42:48 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=920 Several years ago, I was having a discussion with one of my staff. The conversation went all over the place, but he finally blurted out “You know, I just can’t figure out why I don’t get promoted. I am as good as anyone around here. I know more than a lot of them. How did you get to the top??” I feel pretty, oh so pretty!! His question surprised me a little bit. This employee, by his appearance alone never gave me, and I’m sure anyone else the impression that he wanted to be part of management. What I mean is that this gentleman was in his later 30′s, but looked like a throw back to 1965. He was bald on top, and what was left was long, un-styled hair that he pulled back into a pony tail. He had a very bushy mustache that never looked trimmed. He only shaved every two or three days, and had a perpetual five o’clock shadow. And lastly, he wore “ironic” tee shirts, faded jeans, and sneakers, canvas boat shoes actually everyday, that were well “broken in”. The irony was that this man was very smart and very talented at his profession. The [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/dress-for-success.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/choosing-your-career-the-perfect-job.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/choosing-your-career-the-perfect-job.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:16:15 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/choosing-your-career-the-perfect-job/ As a career coach and senior executive, I can’t tell you how often I hear people say “I hate my job.  I just don’t know what to do with my life.  I really hate my job.  What do you think I should do?” That is a very tough question that I can’t answer for you.  It is a completely personal choice based on a lot of factors.  I can also tell you that that question does not always come from high school seniors or college students either.  Many of my clients, men and women in the 40′s and 50′s still express the same concern. Their dilemma is very understandable since we really receive little or no actual guidance on this subject in our youth. High school guidance counselors are geared more to making sure you get into college if that is what you want to do.  Most people simply trip into their careers, or have their careers chosen for them by their parents. What are you passionate about? Choosing a job is not that hard. Anyone can do it. Just look around you and say “I want to be that when I grow up.” But, choosing a career that you [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/choosing-your-career-the-perfect-job.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/i-need-a-new-job.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/i-need-a-new-job.html#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:15:36 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/i-need-a-new-job/ In recent weeks, several of my clients have asked my help in finding them a new job. They each have different reasons for wanting to change jobs. Some just want more money. A few are not comfortable with the financial health of their current employer. And, I have one entry level client and one recently “outplaced” client that just need help getting started. Finding a job is not necessarily that hard, but finding the right job does take a plan. There was a time in the recent past when people would just shotgun resumes or respond to every job ad they saw. That method does work, but it is a lot more painful in terms of time, and success. If you think about it, you need to hit the right company at the right time looking for your credentials. Odds seem a little against you. So, it is best to create a plan of attack, and to work your plan. The first rule of thumb that people need to know in the job search is that, as non-scientific it may be, you should expect to spend about one month per $10,000 of salary hunting for that new job. If you [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/i-need-a-new-job.html/feed 0 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/can-you-judge-a-book-by-its-cover.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/can-you-judge-a-book-by-its-cover.html#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:58:22 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=1030 I’m sure you have heard that you should never judge a book by it’s cover.  That phrase means that what a person looks like does not necessarily reflect on the inner person.  Is that always true? 20/20 Vision Humans are primarily visual beings.  We judge most everything initially on what we see.  The sense we rely on most is vision.  We don’t smell people to identify each other as animals such as dogs do.  We don’t spray our territories to keep intruders away like lions do.  We don’t listen for clicks and whistles to identify friends and family much like the earth’s largest mammals the whales do.  No, we primarily use our sense of sight to get our first impressions. Well, if sight is so important to us, wouldn’t it be fair to say that what you see does often reflect the inner person because the person knows what image they are trying to present to you, right? Self Proclaimed Worlds Hottest Sports Reporter? For evidence I present Mexican sports reporter Ines Sainz.  Miss Sainz recently tweeted that she had been treated inappropriately at the NY football Jets training camp.  She was unhappy that some of the players made some [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/can-you-judge-a-book-by-its-cover.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:49:30 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=767   Charley Charley, a new retiree-greeter at Wal-Mart, just couldn’t seem to get to work on time.    Every day he was 5, 10, 15 minutes late. But he was a good worker, really tidy, clean-shaven, sharp minded and a real credit to the company; obviously demonstrating their “Older Person Friendly” policies.  One day the boss called him into the office for a talk. “Charley, I have to tell you, I like your work ethic, you do a bang up job. But, being late so often is quite bothersome.” “I know boss, and I am working on it.” ”Well good, you are a team player. That’s what I like to hear. It’s odd though your coming in late.   I know you’re retired from the Armed Forces. So, what did they say if you came in late back then?”  ‘‘They said, ‘Good morning, Admiral, can I get you coffee, sir?”’ What do you know about your employees?  Some of them have skills and talents that are far beyond what you see of them day in and day out. The Problem Several years ago, I had an opening for a computer programmer.  One of the computer operators approached me with an [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-do-you-know-about-your-employees.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:28:00 +0000 Mike Anderson http://directyourcareer.com/blog/?p=729 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/get-ready-for-that-interview-3.html/feed 80 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/the-tazmanian-devil-2.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/the-tazmanian-devil-2.html#comments Sun, 04 Dec 2011 11:51:09 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/?p=33 One of the first things I learned in business about people is that there are marathon runners and there are sprinters. What I mean by that is that some people can only work on a project or hold a thought for a short period of time before losing their focus and moving on to something new. By moving on, or sprinting to the next project, they leave the actual work to the marathon runners, you know, the guys that just plod along making sure everything is working. There used to be this cartoon character on TV that I loved called the Tasmanian Devil. You could tell he was about to burst onto the scene because in the distance you heard this whirl of wind and could see a dust cloud up in the sky. As he got closer, all you could see was this tornado looking thing approaching until it came to a sudden stop. The Devil would stand still, looking side to side only with his eyes, keeping very still, before spinning away to another location to stir things up. Everyone was afraid of the Tasmanian Devil. *********************Advertisement********************* Are you tired of sending out resumes without a response? Interviews [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/the-tazmanian-devil-2.html/feed 1 http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:34:25 +0000 Mike http://justmike70.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you/ I have read thousands of resumes in my career as a C-level executive. To be honest, I usually read the first couple of lines and scan the job titles of the candidate in an effort to glean what I am able to as quickly as possible. Do you know why? Not because I am too busy or too lazy to read them. No, it is because they are often so boring and poorly formatted that I can hardly get past the first few lines. Read me! To get hiring authorities to read your resume, candidates must find ways to create an eye appealing format. Whether you are an entry level candidate, or a senior executive, the first two people that read your resume are generally completely unqualified to make a determination as to whether or not you are qualified for the position for which you are applying. Executive Recruiters or internal HR staff only know on a superficial level whether your qualifications match up with the requirements of the job. Normally, knowing that is that is the job of the hiring authority, but only if your resume has passed on to them through the hands of the first level gate [...]]]> http://directyourcareer.com/blog/what-does-your-resume-say-about-you-2.html/feed 4