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Tips for Work and Life with Andrew LaCivita

Career coach and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita shares insights on leading a rewarding career and fulfilled life.
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Now displaying: 2016
Dec 16, 2016
Are you afraid to take the first step because you’re not sure if you’ll succeed? Do you wonder why you take big leaps but don’t reach your goals? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses 4 surefire signs there's no way you'll fail!

Get the full story here: http://milewalk.com/mwblog/4-surefire-signs-theres-no-way-youll-fail/

Let’s get you over the fear and over the hump and give you the confidence you'll succeed!

Step 0: Ditch the self-importance. It’s a drag and it’s a real draaaaaaaag!

Sign 1: Sacrifice: I will sacrifice and create the space in my life to complete the project, achieve the goal, reach the next level, and pursue the life I want.

Sign 2: Learn: I will to learn whatever is required for me to succeed recognizing I’ll need to become self-sufficient before seeking additional support and learn things I don’t know and relearn things I do know when the world evolves.

Sign 3: Believe: I will believe in myself no matter the challenges I encounter and no matter what.

Sign 4: Focus: I will remain focused because my love for that purpose (goal, etc.) will need to stay the same even when everything required to achieve it will seem to change daily.

Want a planner to help make sure you succeed in your career?

GRAB THE 5-STEP CAREER SUCCESS PLANNER HERE:

https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/5-step-career-success-planner

It comes with a 3-part video series to help you get your career focused, energized, and on track!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks!

Andy

Dec 12, 2016
Do you wonder why you have so much troubling negotiating for the salary you deserve? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses your salary negotiation starts with your cover letter not job offer!

In this episode I’ll review one of the biggest mistakes people make when negotiating their job offer: they don’t start “the negotiation” from the beginning of their job search and interviewing process. They also don’t recognize ever breath they take, every email they write, every thank-you note they send, every interview they have, their attitude, their posture, and so on is an opportunity to “negotiate.”

Watch the video or listen to the podcast for more insight.

Here are several valuable DOWNLOADS along with their respective videos:

The One-Page Guide to Negotiating Your Salary with its instructional video.

One-Page Guide to Negotiating Your Salary: http://bit.ly/2dxaNCf

Video: http://bit.ly/2ebts5n

The 4 Sentence Cover Letter that Gets You the Job Interview with its instructional video.

4 Sentence Cover Letter that Gets You the Job Interview: http://bit.ly/2aYVb3k

Video: http://bit.ly/2bsiT9R

Two Boss Hunting Cover Letters with their instructional video.

Two Boss Hunting Cover Letters: http://bit.ly/2elZjNh

Video: http://bit.ly/2ebts5n

The Winning Thank You Note with its instructional video.

The Winning Thank You Note: http://bit.ly/29CJOC8

Video: http://bit.ly/29q0E7y

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

THANKS!

Andy

Nov 22, 2016
Feeling stuck? Are you racking up accomplishment after accomplishment but you don't feel like you're making progress or don't feel happy or don't feel successful? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses How to Reflect Your Way to Success!

For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-to-reflect-your-way-to-success

FREE DOWNLOAD: ANNUAL CAREER REFLECTION GUIDE FOR SUCCESS

GET IT HERE: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/annual-career-reflection-guide-for-success-by-andrew-lacivita

Do you feel like you’re not making progress? Do you pile up achievements, but you don’t feel successful or happy?

You’re in luck today because I’m going to help you feel better and successful with how to reflect your way to success.

One of the biggest sources of these types of feelings is lack of reflection. People simply don’t reflect on their lives.

Most are happy to worry endlessly about all they have not done or have not accomplished or still need to do. It’s a rare few who actually take the time daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually to consider their moments.

No matter how many accomplishments or goals you rack up, you’ll never feel successful unless you take the time to reflect.

The point is to (just) look back and not be tempted (during this exercise) to look forward. You can look forward later.

I designed a 15-question guide called the Annual Career Reflection Guide to Success (because I had to name it something) to help you most effectively reflect and feel good about yourself!

The truth is you can use it daily if you’d like or weekly or whatever.

There are eight key areas:

  1. Moments
  2. Accomplishments
  3. Challenges
  4. Lessons
  5. More Of
  6. Less Of
  7. Unnecessary worries
  8. Thankfulness 

FREE DOWNLOAD: ANNUAL CAREER REFLECTION GUIDE FOR SUCCESS

GET IT HERE: https://www.milewalkacademy.com/p/annual-career-reflection-guide-for-success-by-andrew-lacivita

Bonus Section and Giveaways!

For a limited time, I’m reprising my 3-Part Video Series Workshop titled Transform Your Career. You get a 5-Step Career Success Planner with the videos. At the end of the workshop you will:

  • Gain career clarity, direction, and focus.
  • Understand why people fail in their career pursuits.
  • Position yourself to successfully overcome the inevitable challenges you’ll encounter on your way to achieving your career goals.
  • Know the 15 most critical areas to evaluate before pursuing a job or career change.

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks,

Andy

Oct 17, 2016
Having trouble with your job hunt? Why not expand your techniques to boss hunt as well? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses How to Boss Hunt with a Cover Letter That Makes Hearts Melt!

or the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-to-boss-hunt-with-a-cover-letter-that-makes-hearts-melt


If you’re running into roadblocks in your job search, you’ll need to augment your techniques. Imagine those silly gatekeepers and HR specialists sifting through your one-page-advertisement sheet as they swipe by so they can rifle through the other 299 applicants and call it a day. Ain’t gonna happen.

Well, you’re in luck because I have a technique that only a rare few use—boss hunting.

Actually, this technique will benefit anyone in these situations:

  1. You're stuck in your job search.
  2. You simply want to add another tool to your job-search arsenal.
  3. You want to expand your professional network and need an opener to meet someone.
  4. You want some cool cover letter templates.

First, make sure you know which career, companies, roles, and so forth you truly want. I have a fantastic, free workshop called Transform Your Career: Mastering the 3 Personal Drives That Lead to Career Fulfillment coming up on October 27th. It will help you get on the right track.

Second, I’m assuming you’re also targeting companies and searching the job boards per How To Target the Best Companies in Your Job Search. Check out the video, podcast, and downloads (Best & Fastest Growing Companies Lists and My Favorite Job Boards List).

Now, let’s get to boss hunting.

The goal is to increase your chances of success by adding another dimension to your search!

It's about finding the person or a person you can contact.

I’m not going through the techniques to find the boss. If you know the company or see an open role, you should be able to LinkedIn or Google your way to finding her or him or them.

It doesn’t need to be the exact boss overseeing the area. Any authority figure or the head honcho should do for your purposes.

You might also stumble across an attractive person (career-wise people!) via your research. That’s just as good. It doesn’t matter whether his or her company is hiring or has an open role. This is about people contacting!

Send that person an email with your resume. Don’t know what to say? No sweat. I wrote it for you. Grab the download The Boss-Hunting Cover Letter. It’s heart-melting. I promise.

DOWNLOAD THE BOSS-HUNTING COVER LETTERS HERE:

https://milewalk.leadpages.co/leadbox/143aacf93f72a2%3A17fd80be1346dc/5659414535077888/

Don’t forget about my four-sentence cover letter too!

Do not be concerned if you’ve already sent your resume into the ATS abyss. (Here’s how to bypass the ATS. You knew I’d have something on that subject. Don’t lie.)

Most companies don’t communicate well even if they only have twenty employees. The HR specialist might not have gotten to yours. Either way, there’s nothing wrong with getting a little extra love or referral from within the organization.

Think about it. What’s better? A personal email to someone telling him or her you are a not-so-secret admirer or clumsily plopping your information into a robotic, cold-hearted ATS?

Bonus Section:

Want to know why it works? Download Interview Intervention: Communication That Gets You Hired and skip to pages 39-42. Yes. It’s free too.

You can also watch the video or listen to the podcast for further insight and instruction.

Don't forget about the workshop. October 27, 2016. It’s going to be fabulous. I promise. There I go promising again. :)

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

THANKS!

Andy

Sep 30, 2016
Have you ever struggled to negotiate your salary for a new job or promotion? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the very best philosophies and techniques to negotiate your salary!

For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/11-reasons-make-bad-job-changing-decisions

For the FREE DOWNLOAD of THE ONE-PAGE GUIDE and FULL TRANSCRIPT, click here:

http://bit.ly/2dxaNCf

 

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks,

Andy

Sep 23, 2016
Do you feel you continue to make bad job-changing decisions? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the 11 reasons you make bad job changing decisions and how to overcome them!

For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/11-reasons-make-bad-job-changing-decisions

Do you feel you continue to make poor career choices? Are you confused why you make awful job-changing decisions?

There are obviously many factors that contribute to your decisions and decision-making abilities, but there are essentially 11 reasons you make bad job-changing decisions.

Below are the summary and highlights from the original podcast. I’ve included a handy, free decision-making checklist to ensure you’re in order. If you like this material, keep an eye out for an upcoming free video and live workshop on transforming your career I’ll be conducting starting October 27, 2016. All my Tips for Work and Life® blog subscribers will be alerted as we get closer.

INCOMPLETE INFORMATION

You didn’t gather enough information.

How many times have you thought if I’d only have known that then? There are usually two issues here. It’s likely your inventory of questions or topic areas to investigate was incomplete. Additionally, you probably didn’t dig deep enough (even if you had a complete inventory of questions.)

Overcome this issue by creating an exhaustive list of questions to ensure you’re covering everything. Make sure to keep asking “Why?” until you can’t ask “Why?” anymore. There is no friendlier, joint three-letter word complete sentence I can think of when it comes to your decision-making prowess.

For the really ambitious, there is loads (I mean loads) of insight on decision-making in my award-winning book The Hiring Prophecies: Psychology Behind Recruiting Successful Employees. You can get an entire digital experience, including the eBook, audio and guides for free here.

You had more options but didn’t know it.

You were lazy when it came to investigating all your options. Make sure to think creatively and exhaust all avenues.

INCORRECT INFORMATION

You’re looking where you shouldn’t be (or placing too much weight on the wrong information).

Social Media Sites, LinkedIn, and Corporate Sites (Glassdoor, Vault, Wetfeet) are filled with angriness (mostly). Don’t place too much weight on information where the deck is stacked. Overcome this issue by keeping all you intake in its proper context. And, make sure to do you own investigation before you’re willing to take someone else’s (especially a stranger’s) word for it. This is, after all, your career.

You expect good advice from someone who doesn’t have all the information.

Here’s a scenario. You’ve just given five minutes worth of your (own) bias-filled information to people (a mentor, confidant, co-worker, spouse or whomever) and asked them for advice. If this needs further explaining, go back to You Didn’t Gather Enough Information. They’re now you.

MOTIVES

You weren’t clear (with yourself) on your (own) motives.

Remember your whys! When people go through a lengthy (interviewing) process, for some reason they forget the reasons why they started the process. They also tend to abandon or minimize their (happiness) criteria in favor of the shiny bells and toys the employer has placed in front of them.

You were driven by someone else’s motives.

Don’t do it for your parents, friends, coworkers, spouse, or anyone else. You’ll resent them. This is your life!

FEAR

You fear loss.

You’re worried you’ll lose what you already have (your reputation, easy commute, a job you can do in your sleep, your friendships with coworkers, etc.) Make sure to keep your outlook balanced. You’re gaining much too.

You fear hardship.

Boo hoo this new job will be hard. You’re not sure you’re up for the challenge. Chances are, if a company wants to hire you, you’re qualified and will kick butt if you put some effort into it!

OVERCONFIDENCE

You’re bravado makes you senseless.

Overconfidence stems from many sources, but for our purposes assume it comes from your lack of correct or complete information. Just make sure to investigate wholly and you’ll be in great shape. (P.S. Do not mistake overconfidence for confidence.)

BIASES

You have the status-quo bias.

You have a strong preference to keep your life as-is! You also think any change is a loss of what you currently have instead of a gain for the better. Do not focusing solely on what you’re losing or place greater emphasis than is necessary.

You have the sunk-cost bias.

You’re placing too much weight on time you’ve spent and what you’ve accumulated (something you’ve built, any labor of love, memories, etc.). You need to remove your emotional attachment and rechannel it. One of the easiest way’s to do this is ask yourself, “If I wasn’t currently working here, would this job, or the new one, align better to my criteria?”

Bam. There they are. Eleven nasty ones. I always love to hear from you. What are reasons you think you or others have made poor job-changing decisions?

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks!

Andy

Sep 16, 2016
Interested in reaching unbelievable heights in your career and life? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the 9 fastest ways to be awesome at your craft!

For the most complete post, summary, scripts, and quote cards, see here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/9-fastest-ways-awesome-at-your-craft

For those who want to be truly awesome at what “they do,” I’m going to give you my formula for accelerating your career or your life or whatever you want to catapult. Here are the 9 fastest ways to be awesome at your craft based on what I’ve seen works!

Below are the highlights from the podcast. For a more complete explanation of each area, listen here. It’s also available on any major podcast platform.

First, I’m going to assume you actually want to practice your craft. It sounds silly, but most people who reach out to me are miserable, stuck, or a host of other undesirable feelings.

Let’s assume you chose your path correctly. If you haven’t, check out the First Thing To Do When You Want To Change Careers before proceeding.

Let’s roll…

Adjust your attitude. Optimism is something you manufacture from your attitude. Inspiration is something someone else manufactures from your optimism. Your ability to think without limits will help you create those incredible achievements. It’s also what will inspire the others around. See Unlock Your True Potential With These Three Keys.

Identify the most important capabilities. If you simply practice the “how to” do something, you won’t be able to reach the truly elevated heights. Everyone has purchased the “How To Manual.” You need to know what makes the greatest the greatest. Example: Don’t just learn how to sell. Learn psychology. Learn storytelling. Know the sequence people need to hear things so they can understand how your product or service with help them. Be sincere.

Build a Franken-Mentor. I don’t think any one person, as a mentor, will help you reach phenomenal heights. Build yourself a collection of people—live or online—who can help you build your capabilities. I study four people (Burchard, Walker, Hyatt, McLaren). They help me with high performance, product launching, personal platform building, and membership site management respectively. None of these people do anything related to career management or hiring (my areas of expertise). They support the capabilities I need to learn and master.

Train like heck. See the four gents I mentioned above? I’ve spent nearly 500 hours over the past two years studying their material. That’s purchasing their training material, watching and studying it, reviewing their blogs, and so forth. If you use the 2,000 work hours per year rule of thumb (for the average 9-to-5-er), that’s an additional 12.5% training I added to ensure I know what I’m doing.

Practice. Perfectly. You will make permanent what you practice. Make sure you know what makes something perfect before you make it permanent. There are two ways to go wrong here. First, you can practice poorly. Second, you can practice the wrong things.

Choose (or find) the best people to be around. You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely. I’m speaking about actual live people who you see and exchange ideas and banter.

Spend lots of time with Google and YouTube. There is absolutely no excuse why you can’t learn something you want to know. I had no idea how to set up a podcast. I had no idea how to use a DSLR camera before I needed to use one. I knew nothing about lighting. I knew nothing about email marketing. The point isn’t, “I’m great.” The point is, I knew nothing!

Get the right tools. There are so many tools to help you become awesome! They can be organizational tools, research tools, and so on. I recorded this podcast away from office using a cool Sennheiser ClipMic Digital (powered by Apogee) microphone connected directly to my iPhone. It was a new toy I found by accident because I was Googling and YouTubing ways to hook up my Sennheiser Lavalier Microphone. Now I can record these little beauties on the road! It’s also awesome for getting fantastic quality when you’re live on Facebook.

Listen: Listen to the world. Listen to your customers. Don’t ever listen to your competition unless you want to create the same products or services they’re creating. Your greatest opportunities will be found in the sounds of other people's complaints. Solve their problems and you're their hero.

As always, I’d love to hear from you: What are your greatest tricks or steps to becoming awesome?

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks,

Andy

Sep 8, 2016
Do you feel like you're driving through your life or career with the emergency brake on ? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to visualize your way to success!

Get full post, summary, audio, quote cards, and more at:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-visualize-way-success

SUMMARY

Have you ever felt like you were driving through your life or your career with the emergency brake on? It feels as if no matter how hard you work at something, you’re simply not progressing as quickly as you’d like?

Today, I want to talk about a daily exercise I’ve practiced religiously—visualization. And, provide some insight into how to visualize your way to success. Five minutes of this every day will improve your life dramatically.

When did that gray hair and eye wrinkle show up?

I never notice my face change from day to day. Only when I look at pictures from a few years back can I see the transformation.

Much of your life is like this. Your career is like this. Your marriage can be like this.

While most people prefer to slow the aging process, many want to accelerate their lives and careers. Much like the unnoticeable change with age, your progress from day to day becomes imperceptible.

Oftentimes, you’ll feel better about your advancements if you take time to look back at where you were one, three, and five years ago. That’ll help your psyche a bit.

I’m sure many of you are like me. You feel where you’ve been is history. You care more about getting where you’re going—and you want to get there is a hurry!

First Step: Before you look forward, take a deep breath and spend a few moments realizing (yes—realizing) how far you’ve come and all you’ve accomplished. In fact, spend a few minutes every day doing this.

What’s the best way to get from where I am to where I want to go?

There are few key principles to understand to help you quickly get from where you are to where you want to go:

  • Identify where you want to go.
  • Make sure you’re working toward something you love.
  • Believe you can accomplish it.

Identify. The first is you’ll get where you’re going faster if you know where you want to go. It also helps to know where you are. Don’t laugh. Most people are in a much better starting position than they realize.

Love. The second is you’ll make greater leaps in life by doing small things you love than doing big things you don’t. You need to enjoy yourself each day because your passion and optimism will fuel getting things done. Most importantly, don’t let what you can do stop you from doing what you were meant to do!

Believe. The third is you need to believe you can get there and be unafraid to jump in! At least once a day, I think about this fantastic quote from American Naturalist and Essayist John Burroughs. He said, “Leap, and the net will appear.” (If you’re really ambitious, check out The Art of Seeing Things: Essays by John Burroughs and You’ll See it When You Believe it by Wayne Dyer.) You believe it. Then it happens. It’s never the other way around.

Where’s the 5-minute thing you promised me? I’m in a hurry…

Okay antsy pants. Visualize yourself at your end-state even though you don’t know how to get there.

Imagine yourself at your “destination.” What’s it like? How does it feel? How does it sound? What will the end-state allow you to do?

Imagine this for five minutes. It’s okay to dream, but you’re more likely creating a reality.

“Five minutes” means you can do this in the shower, on the train, or wherever. It’s best to do it in a quiet location.

This visual of you in all your glory will have pull power—it’ll feel like it’s pulling you toward it. In actuality, you’ll be pushing yourself toward it one step at a time.

There are really only two steps required for the greatest level of success: the next step and the extra step. You simply need to know what you need to do next to move toward your destination. Putting a little extra effort along the way will separate you from the masses who are unwilling to do that.

  1. Picture the end-state, what it’s like, how it feels, how is sounds, and what it will enable you to do.
  2. You need to do this repetitively as you work toward this transition and evolution. That will help you do this one-day at a time.
  3. Then take what you’ve identified as the next step. And take it. One step at a time.

One fantastic resource to help you visualize your future is Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want. It’s a great book by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy. I hope you enjoy it.

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on YouTube on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future videos and podcasts ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks!

Andy

 

Aug 16, 2016
Are you confused about cover letters? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the goals of a cover and a four-sentence structure that can’t miss!

Get full post, summary, video, audio, quote cards, and more at:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/4-sentence-cover-letter-gets-job-interview

SUMMARY

Modern-day cover letter is your introduction—of any kind—to the employer.

There are essentially three ways this occurs:

  1. Cover Letter
  2. Email (with attached resume)
  3. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

Your “cover letter” has three goals:

  1. Explain why you’ve contacted the employer.
  2. Provide insight on who you are and what you offer.
  3. Show enthusiasm and interest in hearing (back) from the employer.

You can accomplish these three goals in four sentences, which I discuss in the video. You can also grab the free download to see the exact format!

If you have haven’t seen How To Build the Ultimate Professional Resume, check it out because some of the cover letter content references your resume.

GIVEAWAYS

DOWNLOAD: The 4 Sentence Cover Letter: http://bit.ly/2aYVb3k

You can also get the Interview Intervention Book Experience, which has much more and includes an eBook, audio, chapter note, guides, and many aids related to job interviewing!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Aug 10, 2016
Have you ever wondered the best way to target companies in your job search? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to target the best companies in your job search!

Get full post, summary, video, audio, quote cards, and transcript at:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/how-target-best-companies-your-job-search

SUMMARY

I'm amazed at the laser-like focus job seekers have on finding a job by target only "jobs." You join a company. You don't join a job!

Regardless of whether you desperately need a job, would like to find an alternate job, or want to evaluate the market to review better opportunities, I suggest to first target companies. Here's how to target the best companies in your job search.

For most, the company you work for will have a far greater impact on your overall professional growth than the individual responsibilities you perform in your particular job.

Think about it. Would you rather have absorbed the pedigree from being part of a NFL Super Bowl team or would you rather be the ace pitcher on a MLB team whose record is 62 wins and 100 loses?

I’m going to help you get started...

THINK

  • About your profession, industry, and organizations you could work for
  • About your competitor
  • Start generating a list of companies in your field (or targeted field) you could investigate
  • Review the companies’ career sites

GOOGLE

  • Don’t knock simple google searches.
  • Set up google alerts for companies within your sector

SOURCES

  • Public Companies: SEC’s Edgar Site has public annual information on the companies (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml)
  • Private: Site’s or offerings like Hoover’s (http://www.hoovers.com/)

BEST OF LISTS

There are so many: Check out the DOWNLOAD for my favorites!

  • Forbes
  • Inc. 500 and 5000
  • Best 100 Companies to Work For

BOOKS & BLOGS

  • Find authors and bloggers in your space
  • They'll comment on the industry trends, companies, etc.

LINKEDIN

  • You can search
  • You can review company pages
  • You can see if you know anyone who works there

JOB BOARDS

  • Look at the openings
  • Look at the reviews

COMPANY EVALUATION SITES

  • Glassdoor
  • Vault
  • Wetfeet

 

Giveaways

DOWNLOAD: "Best Of" and "Fastest Growing" Lists Coming Soon!

You can also get the Interview Intervention Book Experience, which has much more and includes an eBook, audio, chapter note, guides, and many aids related to job interviewing!

Listen the rest of the podcast for complete instruction so you can fully embrace thanking the employer!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Jul 23, 2016
Wondering how to get your college resume noticed? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses This One Trick That Will Make Your College Resume Stand Out!

I’ve seen over a half-million resumes during my career and have a great trick for college students and recent graduates to ensure their resumes stand out. Below are This One Trick Will Make Your College Resume Stand Out video and podcast highlights!

PRELUDE: If you didn't see How To Build The Ultimate Professional Resume, check it out for many more details, which overlap with collegiate resumes.

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/build-ultimate-professional-resume-andrew-lacivita/

This trick helps overcome the most common resume mistake: placing a worthless objective statement at the top of the resume.

DOWNLOAD: Download Your Ultimate Collegiate Resume Template with instructions so you can follow along!

https://milewalk.leadpages.co/leadbox/123432753f72a2%3A17fd80be1346dc/5680219105001472/

Remember, your resume has one goal: To entice a prospective employer to speak with you. This requires you to show what you offer, not ask for what you want.

Even starting with your education doesn’t buy you much because employers care about so much more than your schooling.

The Trick: At the top of your resume, include a Profile of you. This is a quick snapshot of you as a person and soon-to-be full-time professional. Your goal is to provide a one-paragraph, high-level overview of you as a student and part-time worker. This helps employers develop of picture in their minds regarding who you are and what’s forthcoming in your resume. You want to entice them. Keep in mind; this is your “sales copy” of you to get them interested!

Example: State University graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Psychology minor. Held various summer jobs and internships focusing on sales support activities. Served on several university and fraternal committees. Built additional sales-related capabilities via school fundraising activities and other volunteering efforts.

You want to include reference to these four items:

  1. School
  2. Major/Degree
  3. Work Experience Generalize
  4. Extracurriculars

The benefits:

  • Appears more professional than collegiate to the employer.
  • Demonstrates maturity, which is currently one of the biggest complaints by employers regarding college graduates’ lack of readiness for the workforce.
  • Builds excitement for the employer as they start to review your resume.
  • Provides an element of uniqueness because very few do this.

See the video, podcast, or transcript for more details.

Check the Tips for Work and Life Blog® for additional articles on resume writing. Go to:

www.andrewlacivita.com

Giveaways!

You can also get the Interview Intervention Experience, which has much more and includes an eBook, audio, chapter note, guides, and many aids related to job interviewing!

Listen the rest of the podcast for complete instruction so you can build a killer resume!

See a complete transcript below.

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work! Please share or subscribe to my podcast and YouTube channel too!

Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Jul 18, 2016
Interested in developing a killer resume? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to build the ultimate professional resume!

I’ve reviewed more than 500,000 resumes during my career and have developed an optimal resume format that works for 95% of the workforce. Below are the How To Build The Ultimate Professional Resume video and podcast highlights!

Your resume has only one goal: To entice a prospective employer to speak with you!

Your resume does not: serve as a vehicle to ask for what you want or relay what you’ll do if the employer hires you. Use emails, cover letters, and the job interviews to convey those messages.

DOWNLOAD: Download Your Ultimate Professional Resume Template so you can follow along!

See the video, podcast, or transcript for greater explanation and rationale of all the following sections.

Contact Information

  • Name: Use first and last names only.
  • Address: Street Number, City, State, and Zip Code
  • Phone: Use your cell with a professional voicemail greeting. Do not use your home number with the kids yelling or dogs barking in the background.
  • Email: Use a personal and polished email with your name (johnsmith@gmail.com). Do not use nondescript formats (ilovebirds@gmail.com).

Career Profile

In this section, include one or two very short paragraphs, which identify:

  • Who you are
  • What you’ve accomplished
  • Summary of proficient skills

Don’t include what you want because you want to get them excited!

In the video and podcast, I provided two dissimilar examples of how to aggregate your careers (including a sales professional and hostess examples for illustrative diversity).

Career Highlights

In this section, include three to four significant accomplishments.

You’ll hit home runs if you focus on the three key areas companies care about:

  • Generating revenue
  • Saving costs
  • Optimizing their infrastructure and processes to operate more effectively

In the video and podcast, I provided additional examples.

Work Experience

In this section, outline the following information. The video and podcast have substantially more insight to the rationale and details.

  • List work history in reverse chronological order (never organize by functions performed across companies).
  • Place company name on left side with one sentence description of company immediately underneath.
  • Indent titles/roles underneath company and description with one or two sentences to aggregate accomplishments at the position.
  • Detail accomplishments and responsibilities within each position.

Employers think in terms of time and chronology. They want to see career progression within and across companies.

Education

List your school(s), city, state, and date of degree or anticipated completion date.

Extracurricular and Volunteer Activities

Identify any relevant participation, activities, and experience.

Check the Tips for Work and Life Blog for additional articles on resume writing.

You can see the full post, video, and transcript here:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/build-ultimate-professional-resume-andrew-lacivita

Giveaways!

Download the FREE Your Ultimate Resume Template Professional Edition with instructions based on today’s episode!

You can also get the Interview Intervention Book Experience, which includes an eBook, audio, chapter note, guides, and many aids related to job interviewing!

Like this episode? Please share it via social media and review it on iTunes! I can keep this blog and all future podcasts and videos ad-free and sponsor-free ONLY because you share my work!

Please share or subscribe to my YouTube channel too! Want more advanced material? Join the milewalk Academy and grab some of the free offerings that support the instruction in this post!

Thanks!

Andy

Jul 9, 2016
Have you ever had these challenges when thanking an employer? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to write a thank you that gets you hired.

There are typically four challenges:

1) How to thank the employer

2) When to thank the employer

3) What to say in the thank-you

4) What medium to use (handwritten, email).

There are two most important aspects of the thanking process.

There are two keys you need to know about thanking somebody to make it effective: speed and thoughtfulness.

Speed is how quickly you respond to them after your interview. I recommend 24 hours.

Thoughtfulness is the level of effort and care you put into the words you place into the thank-you. What messages are you're sending?

You realize three benefits when you thank the employer.

There are three benefits of writing a thank-you.

1) You Get To Thank Them: Whenever you’re preparing your thank-you note, you should open with thank you so much for your time and I really enjoyed meeting you.

2) You Get To Sell Yourself: Right after you thank them, add your own unique identifier. Put in your sales pitch. Reinforce why you're the best candidate for the job and why you’re such a great fit.

3) You Get To Reassure the Employer You’re Interested: The third benefit is to reassure the employer of your enthusiasm and interest in the position.

For a complete summary, detailed transcript, fun quote cards, and more related to this podcast episode, visit:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/write-thank-you-that-gets-you-hired

To download the FREE Winning Thank You Template with instructions, click here:

https://milewalk.leadpages.co/leadbox/140def953f72a2%3A17fd80be1346dc/5660007156678656/

If you enjoyed this episode, please comment and share!

Thanks!

Andy

Jun 30, 2016
Have you ever wondered why you’re unable to fulfill your purpose even when you’re so clear on what your purpose is? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses 4 must do’s to fulfill your purpose!  

Ever since I did my first podcast titled, The First Thing To Do When You Want to Change Careers, I've been getting messages via social media and directly from people commenting they feel have clarity on what they want to do, but can't seem to fulfill it. They can't seem to get it to work! I read, “I feel like I know how, but I'm not quite sure what I'm not doing." 

I thought as I was remarking back to these listeners and readers there are four (must do’s) that absolutely have to be done in order to truly fulfill your purpose.

There are four must do’s to fulfill your purpose: 

  1. Sacrifice [First things first. You need to be willing to give up—a lot.]
  2. Learn [You never stop being a student.]
  3. Believe [You must believe in yourself no matter what.]
  4. Focus [With a vision, your why, and the how, you’ll be focused.]

For a complete summary, detailed transcript, fun quote cards, and more related to this podcast episode, visit:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/4-must-dos-to-fulfill-your-purpose/

If you enjoyed this episode, please comment and share!

Thanks!

Andy

Jun 23, 2016

Have you ever wondered if I would have only known then what I know now? It makes no difference who you are, this has happened to you. It’s happened to me. No one escapes this feeling at some point. Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to ask brilliant questions to make smart decisions! 

Any time you’ve made a poor decision, at least one of two things was wrong. You either had a faulty decision-making process or you didn’t have accurate or complete information.

Anytime you’re asking questions (in a job interview or questioning someone as it relates to business), you can prepare yourself by first asking three questions:

  • What do I want to know and why is it important to me?
  • How will I ask it?
  • How and when will I use the information?

What do I want to know and why do I want to know it?

Your whys are such great places to start because that’s what you care about! Why would start in any other place?

How will I ask it?

Adding your rationale at the end is the key to getting the insight you want as quickly as you can possibly get it. The sooner you get the information you need, the more time you create to ask additional questions.

How and when will I use the information?

Any question you ask that yields information you can immediately use to sell yourself or make a decision is short-term.

Any question you ask that yields information you’ll ponder is long-term.

It comes down to:

  • The quantity of your inventory of questions (What will I ask?)
  • The quality of your inventory of questions and their alignment to your needs (Why is that important to me?)
  • Their structure and effectiveness in yielding the information you want as opposed to what the other party thinks you want (How will I ask it?)
  • The benefit of knowing the information (How will I use the information?)
  • When you will use the information (When will I use it to make a determination?)

For a complete summary, detailed "transcript," fun quote cards and more related to this podcast episode, visit:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/ask-brilliant-questions-make-smart-decisions/

If you enjoyed this episode, please comment and share!

Thanks!

Andy

Jun 15, 2016
Have you ever wondered how to unlock your true potential? Most people focus on igniting the wrong things. What if you knew how enhance the three keys—that already exist within you—to reach the level of happiness and success you want? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses how to unlock your true potential!

Here they are:

1. Share yourself. Sharing your own story connects you to the rest of the world. Sharing what you learned and how you were transformed benefits others even if they might do it differently.

2. Be yourself. This is what keeps you connected to you. There is no greater struggle than when what you think, say, and do are not in complete harmony. Think about those times you felt out of sync or not yourself. What was missing? Likely, it was that congruence.

3. Give yourself. This is what connects you to higher powers. It also, oddly, provides the greatest return. This starts with contributing your efforts fully to what you’re going to do and give to the rest of this world. This is giving everything you have to your calling.

Giving yourself—which yields the highest results—requires four components/characteristic:

- Strategy: You have a strategy for where you’re going in life. You seek an understanding of why the world works the way it does in this area. You question everything. You take nothing at face value.

- Mindset: You maintain a particular mindset. You understand limitations are something of the mind, not the universe.

- Practice: Once you have your strategy and no-limits mindset in place, you practice to perfection. By practice, I don’t mean brute force. Brute force or mindlessly working hard will never overcome intellectual laziness. You practice with an extreme sense of deliberation. You practice your craft well past the point of being able to do it perfectly. You practice it to the point you couldn’t possibly make a mistake because you are so dialed in.

- Discomfort: You seem to live in a continual state of discomfort. Of course, I’m not talking about living in pain, but continually pushing yourself so that every day you’re a bit uncomfortable because you’re constantly trying new activities and undertaking new projects that progress you. You embrace this discomfort because you know it will make you a great pioneer.

For a complete summary, detailed "transcript," fun quote cards and more related to this podcast episode, visit:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/unlock-true-potential-3-keys-podcast/

If you enjoyed this episode, please comment and share!

Thanks!

Andy

Jun 3, 2016
Have you ever wanted to change careers? Have you ever questioned your field of study? Join career expert, motivator, and award-winning author Andrew LaCivita as he discusses the best first step to take when you want to make a career change.

There is one really common reason you want to change. You’re not doing what you love or what makes you happy (anymore).

You have two major obstacles to making this type of change successfully:

  1. You need to become self-aware.
  2. You need to determine whether your current employer, current career, prospective employer, or prospective career can actually satisfy your (self-awareness) needs.

Your prescription for part one:

  1. Write your “headline” or purpose. Start with what you want to be or build in general terms, but do not include how you’ll accomplish it.
  2. Determine why you want that headline. Challenge yourself regarding why you want this and whether your reasons will change in the face of imminent adversity.
  3. Identify your “what and why combinations” you need to stay happy as you work to fulfill your headline.

Make sure you:

  • Identify your criteria and not someone else’s.
  • Include as many criteria (your what/why combos) as possible. The more the better.
  • Make each item as low-level as possible. That is, develop them down to the lowest level of why by continually asking yourself why (on each criterion) until you can’t ask why any more.

For a complete summary, detailed "transcript," fun quote cards and more related to this podcast episode, visit:

http://milewalk.com/mwblog/first-thing-want-change-careers-podcast/

If you enjoyed this episode, please comment and share!

Thanks!

Andy

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