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If you are driven to being the best in your profession, you possess the ideal combination of experience, knowledge and training, and you’re confident in your ability to complete most projects with relative ease and achieve the desired end results.

Conversely, when you undertake a project without the proper experience, knowledge base and training, more often than not, you’ll make costly errors and the end result is prone to be flawed and will fail to yield the desired results. Read more

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As an introvert leader, it’s no mystery to you that you need to expand your network. Nevertheless, that knowledge has done very little to prompt you to do anything about it – has it?

It’s a lot like losing weight. You know you should be exercising and eating right but you just never get around to doing the right thing for yourself. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on Real Simple.}

Whether you’re happily employed or seriously hunting for a new job, schmoozing is smart policy. But what if you’re the type who’d rather stick needles in her eyes than “work a room”? Here are five super-helpful strategies from the pros. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on The Muse.}

So, how do you answer, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

This can feel like a bit of a trick question, because sometimes the answer is, “not in this job,” or, “in your job,” or something like, “at a bigger better opportunity elsewhere.” But none of those are things you actually want to say to a hiring manager. Read more

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Phone to Phone Introduction

As a stellar would-be employee, you want to sail through the interview process. But before you think that all you need is a knockout résumé and a killer outfit, think again. Nowadays, there’s a step before the in-person interview: the phone interview.

“The global economy means more and more cross-border hiring, where an initial phone interview becomes even more important,” says Sanjeev Agrawal, founder of Collegefeed, a career marketplace for college students.

Employers are increasingly opting for phone interviews to screen potential new hires. By doing so, companies can sort through candidates without committing to the expense and time required for on-site meet-ups. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on The Muse.}

When it comes to your career, sometimes it feels like you could use all the advice you can get. From picking the “right” career to actually excelling in it, there’s certainly a lot to learn.

And that’s why we’ve gathered our all-time best career advice. From starting out at the bottom of the totem pole to advancing to a more senior position to – who knows? – maybe even branching out to open your own business, we’ve collected 45 of the best tips for whatever stage you’re at in your career. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on Careerrocketeer.}

Back in the job market for an executive role? You may have encountered (or wondered about) potential age discrimination when putting yourself “out there” for an executive job search.

If you find yourself experiencing rejection in your job applications, the possibility of age discrimination may seem all too real.

Yet, it’s possible that you’re actually CALLING attention to your age – more so that your leadership qualifications. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on Real Simple.}

Whether you’re looking for a new job or just want to network, use these tips to make your profile more effective.

You’ve friended just about everyone you’ve ever met on Facebook (including your crush from the summer of ‘89). You’re a pro at curating deceptively easy dinner-party recipes on Pinterest. And on Twitter you have a couple of hundred followers reading your 140-character zingers. Yet all this time you’ve hesitated to join LinkedIn. Are you missing out? Here’s a guide to the career-networking website, along with ways to navigate it if you do sign up.<!–more–>

Who should use LinkedIn?

If you work in health care, finance, marketing, event planning, law, technology, consulting, human resources, or sales or at a nonprofit, “the site is a great place to connect with people who can help you professionally, and vice versa, whether you’re job-seeking or networking,” says Victoria Ipri, the CEO of Ipri International, a Philadelphia-based marketing firm that specializes in LinkedIn strategies. About 26 percent of companies research potential employees on the site, according to a 2013 CareerBuilder study. Feel free to skip membership, however, if you’re contentedly self-employed with a trade like personal organizing or gardening; you’ll be able to market yourself to clients more easily on Facebook.

Should you connect with your best friend?

What about a stranger? Your college roommate is a nurse, and you’re an accountant. So you can’t really assist each other professionally, right? Not necessarily. “You’re not just connecting with a person, but their network as well. She may have a link to someone who could help you,” says Viveka von Rosen, the author of LinkedIn Marketing ($30, amazon.com). For the same reason, it’s also wise to consider accepting a request from someone you don’t know. “When you receive a random invitation, look at the sender’s profile and determine if it is a quality connection for your needs and circumstances before accepting or rejecting it,” says Ipri.

What’s the best way to grow your network?

Use the site’s “People You May Know” tool (located on the right side of your page) to reach out to professionals with similar backgrounds and connections. If you’re interested in working for a particular company (IBM or Procter & Gamble, say), go to its page and click to “follow” it, then look at the list of people who work there. Next, find an employee whose path you would like to emulate, then invite her to connect, says Nicole Williams, the resident career expert at LinkedIn: “To demonstrate that you would be a meaningful connection, write a note that conveys that you have done research on her employer and her personal accomplishments.”

How frequently do you need to check in?

Every day for a few minutes, and once a week for about a half hour. That’s how much time you’ll need to write to a new connection and to participate in a group discussion. Keep in mind: “Hiring managers are 10 times more likely to look at your profile if you post something at least weekly,” says Williams.

Should your profile page replicate your résumé?

It should be even more detailed. Think of it as your résumé, plus everything else that you couldn’t fit on it, like video clips of speeches that you’ve given and news articles about your work, says von Rosen. The more thorough you are in describing yourself, the easier it is for an employer to assess your qualifications. So go on—toot your own horn.

{Click here to read the original article on The Muse.}

It's no secret — managing all the things you have to do as an adult is a challenge. From doing your best on the job to taking care of yourself (and, if you have them, your kids) to trying to see friends and stay sane, we know you've got a lot on your plate.

And while it's up for debate whether you can "have it all," you certainly ought to be able to balance everything you've got and live a happy, fulfilling life. Read more

{Click here to read the original article on Real Simple.}

You know the type: the worker bee who waltzes into the office with an eager smile and, perhaps even more impressively, walks out at the end of the day looking just as jolly. But according to a Gallup poll last year, these happy workers are a rare species, outnumbered by discontented types by nearly two to one. With the average employee clocking in for 8.8 hours each day (and probably more if you count the off-hours spent shooting off a “quick” e-mail, then grousing about it), that’s a large amount of time spent potentially being unhappy. Read more