If your career is in transition, here are a few things to ponder: You are part of the herd.  There are a lot of other people that are competing for that job opening. Your weaknesses will help employers thin out the herd.  Your weaknesses might make you stand out in the crowd; this is a bad thing and will get you eliminated from the herd. Most of your strengths help you join the status quo.  It’s important to keep up with the herd.  Your survival depends on it. Identify your talents that set you apart from the crowd. Help the employer visualize how your talents will benefit them in...

Sometimes people don’t get things done in a timely manner because they aren’t focused or do not have a sense of urgency. I recently read that successful people always have a sense of urgency to accomplish whatever they are working on at the time. They focus their efforts on doing the tasks that are important to the success of their project. The key to developing a sense of urgency is to have SMART goals and good time management. During the remainder of this post, I will cover a very simplified urgency plan. Creating a sense of urgency (A plan) Admin (Early morning)   Check...

I have often heard the cliché “measure twice, cut once” in reference to cutting lumber. The practice of measuring twice before cutting works most of the time. You measure the length, then double check yourself. Sometimes, you find out that you made a mistake on the first measurement and you get a chance to correct that mistake. The rest of this story reminds us that a second opinion ensures you’re measuring the right surface to cut. The honey-do list Over the weekend I started working on my honey-do list. The task at the top of the list was replacing some older doors we...

Back in October, 2009, I wrote an article entitled “16 essential life skills students should know before leaving high school“.  It was based on personal observations of high school-aged students I have known over the years, including my own kids.  This post takes things a little further, itemizing the 7 necessary skills a student should master before entering college.  1. Personal marketing:  Above everything else, the student should know who they are and what they want in life.  If they can honestly determine their Life Mission & Vision they might be able to...

This year you decided to make a few new year’s resolutions. One of them might have been to be a better time manager or to get organized. My question to you is how are you going to keep on track? Do you have an accountability partner? Someone that will keep you on task! Here’s a suggestion that just might help.  Back in December 2009, I wrote a post call “Google Calendar does SMS”  Why not have Google Calendar keep you on task.  It’s not just a calendar, it’s a calendar that will send you Text Messages to remind you to stay on task.  We’re...