Pinoy Career Coach

Karerin Mo, Bebe!

2012-01-26T09:33:00.000+08:00

Career success comes from passionate pursuit of value creation. This means that the more people see the value you create for them or the organization, the more that they will want you and the more they will be willing give more to have you.

But how many of us are in the business of offering value? Not all is the kindest answer I can give. Many of us are in the business of filling a vacancy, doing whatever is minimally required to keep the job. There are several reasons why we do that. See if any of these describes you:

The job sucks, you don't like it but it puts food on the table. So, even if work feels like pushing a rope, and you have to drag your sorry self to work everyday, you do it.
You're half and half. You don't have a sense of direction so you don't know how to feel about this job. There are days you like it, then there are times when you hate it.
The environment does not encourage pursuit of excellence. Why be great at what you do when you see mediocrity walking around disguised as people, right?
You're not paid well enough to give this job your best. Your argument is "they get what they pay for, if they want more, they should pay more." sounds like a pretty good argument right? I used to subscribe to that too.

Here's the thing; in our journey towards success, just like in any journey, we can't choose where to start. The starting point is always where we currently are. Whether the situation is on the edge of a cliff or in the middle of a fertile ground, that's where we are and that's where we start. What we can choose is the path to take towards success and the pace. The sooner we determine these two, the better for us. Want to take the road less traveled or the beaten path, it's all up to you. What I know is this. If you choose your own best path and the pace by which you will traverse it, the more deliberate every step will be.

People who know where they are going, devise plans to get from the un-ideal place to their desired desitination. Haven't we heard of people who used to be janitors, messengers, clerk or plain housewives who moved from where they were to where they want to be successfully? The only difference between them and us ordinary mortals is their dogged determination despite of, not because of their situations.

So let's look at our four reasons not to give our best in creating value and agree on how we can make a turn around.

You hate your job? Find a way out of it. There's always a way. Have a sense of direction, draw a road map. If you see mediocrity all around you, see it as an easy opportunity to stand out. If you feel that you are not being given enough to give it your best, don't do it for them, do it for yourself, for your future. Everyday and every opportunity to create value is a step towards success. Outstanding people are easy to spot. If they are unwilling or incapable of paying you what you richly deserve, it will be just a matter of time when someone else will. Let that be your motivation.

Kareer kung kareer!

Top Interview Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

2012-01-04T19:15:00.001+08:00

I've done a lot of hiring in my life and my work at ExeQserve exposes me and my recruitment team to other interviewers. Our experiences taught us some good lessons about what makes a good or a bad interview. Let me share them with you here. If you have experiences that you like to share to our readers, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Here now is my list:

Being inconsistent with what's written in your CV. Some candidates put so much embelishments (read lie) in their CVs in order to get noticed. While it might get you that job interview appointment, showing signs that you lied will be your "lie-abilty." get it?
Appearing unprepared and somewhat lethargic. Some people think that all they have to do is show up. This may sound silly but I cannot count the number of times that I felt this about a candidate. The problem is that some of these people are great or have the potential to be great at what they do, they just happen to suck in social interaction. A job interview is a social interaction that require some social interaction skills, know what I'm saying? In your next job interview, suit up, psyche up and prepare to build rapport with your interviewer. It's not rocket science. Read up on Neuro Linguistic Programming, specifically rapport building. It works, I tell you.
Failing to show evidence of competence. If you are a programmer or are applying for any role that requires specific and considerable skill, you have to show some proof of competence. Interviewers, specially the technical interviewers typically ask, well, technical questions. Some prospective employers prefer their prospective employee to be knowledgeable of the nitty-gritty of the job. They also like to know if the candidate, has specific related experiences. It is best to answer in terms of your actual deeds. For example, if you say you are part of a project team that completed the development of a particular software project, don't claim the accomplishment of the whole team. Talk about your role, what you did and your contribution to the success of the project. If what you did is significant enough and you handled your role well enough, you should be able to increase their interest in you.
Showing poor communication skills. Even if say your kind of job does not require a lot communication skill and all other things being equal, you are likely to be overshadowed by those candidates who are better at communicating. It pays to invest in developing your oral and written communication skills. If you recognize that you are poor at this, I suggest that you address it.
Being unattractive. No, I don't have an ugly face discrimination. Some people can be quite attractive despite having homely features. On the other hand some can be quite unattractive despite having physically attractive features. I'm talking about like-ability here. Are you likeable, what qualities do you have that make people like you? Please don't say none. We all have it. (or am I being too optimistic?) It is important to demonstrate your positive qualities as a person and as a co-worker. Employers want to hire people they will like to work with. People who are easy to talk to, does not suck out all the positive energy out of you. all these aside from being kick-ass good at work.

The mantra, put your best foot forward is still the best policy in going to a job interview. It doesn't start when you sit down in front of the interviewer. It starts way, way before that. Take this advice and then some and I'm sure your batting average will improve if you are having a hard time getting employed now.

Are You a Wall or a Bridge Builder?

2011-12-29T11:00:00.001+08:00

Humans can be quite territorial and naturally react with some covert or overt hostilities when their personal boundaries are threatened or crossed whether wittingly or unwittingly. Because those boundaries are invisible, they get threatened or crossed all the time. Some people are more tolerant than others or better at communicating their boundaries. Those who are intolerant or poor at communicating tend to polarize people into those who are "with me" and those who are "against me."

Very few people succeed by building walls around them. The real key is building bridges with people or in simpler terms, relationship building.

As a professional interested in career success, it is important that you recognize the importance of building relationship with your boss, your peers, your subordinate and your customers. It also helps to build a strong and growing network of friends outside of your organization because your social network can open the gates to bigger and better opportunities. By offering to help instead of waiting for one and getting disappointed, you invest in strengthening relationships with others.

It's easy to spot a person who has mastered relationship building. Make this your checklist:

they are more trusting of others and in return, they are easy to trust;
they have no enemies nor hold secret grudges;
they serve as organizational glue that unite people rather than segregate or divide them;
they're not bullies;
they are easy to work with because they openly embrace diversity and choose to deal with people in a positive manner;
they listen and truly appreciate feedback without compromising their values; and
they are both humble and confident enough to accept need to change and then change.

It's amazing how easy it is for us to describe the kinds of person we like to be with or work with and yet a lot of us can't commit to being that person to others. You know why? Being that person requires a lot of humility, confidence, willingness to trust and risk taking with people. A lot of us just feel too naked without those walls around us. For those who choose to build bridges rather than walls, the opportunities for growth and mobility is just endless because they establish excellent personal brand.

Competence + Commitment

2011-12-20T19:13:00.001+08:00

A lot of people put their best foot forward trying to land a job. After getting that much coveted job, they lie low and lose a great opportunity to achieve career success. The reason, getting the job means being assured of the salary. And if you don't mess up or mess things up too much you get to keep getting that salary. If you stay long enough, you might get more due to seniority.

Career success does not end in landing the job, neither does it start there. If you are still studying or just fresh out of college, this is the perfect time to read this article. If you've been in the corporate world a long time and not making any progress, this may be the best time to reflect and move onward to success.

Competence + Commitment are two important elements of career success.

Wikepedia refers to competence as "the ability of an individual to perform a job properly." I'd like to emphasize that last word; properly. I believe successful professionals are those who make it a point to grow their knowledge and ability so that they become very good at what they do and then work towards getting better at what they want to do in the future. In short, they grow in competence. The rule is fairly simple really. If you want better package, get better at what you do. Wasn't it Einstein who said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?" If you are a student now and preparing for the world of work. The time for building competence is now and not later. Study your chosen career path carefully and thoroughly. Develop the passion for it and it will pay off later.

Commitment is a promise, a pledge, an engagement, an obligation. Successful professionals are reliable. They honor their commitments and they are consistent. They come on agreed time, they deliver on time and on quality. They say what they say they will do. They are trusted because of all these. Commitment is a personal decision, whether we do commit or not, it's almost always a personal decision. Some people know the weight of commitment that they'd rather not make any. They think it wise to under-promise and over-deliver. I don't know about that, but I like people who promise and then deliver. Those who don't deliver on their promise are tagged as unreliable and get stuck when it's time to choose the best person for the next bigger job.

Competence is a work in progress. It grows and should grow everyday. Commitment is a decision you can make now.

Kaya Ko Yan!

2011-11-27T15:27:00.000+08:00

Your career success or any other endeavor for that matter depends on how often you say "kaya ko yan" (I can do this). Nope, that's not all you need, you silly, but it starts there. CAN or on the other hand CAN'T are pretty powerful words. "Can" sets you on your way, "can't" stops you dead on your tracks.

I've been working for the last 20 years. I got to where I am now because of the number of times I said "kaya ko yan." On the other hand, I got this far also because of the number of times I said "di ko yan kaya" (I can't). I can just imagine how much farther I could have gone had I said kaya ko yan more often than I did and at times when it most mattered.

We all have that "UNKNOWN" window pane in our JOHARI window and the way to shrink it is by challenging our selves, taking some risks or sticking our neck out so to speak. You really can never tell what you can't do if you haven't tried at least once.

I wrote this because I see a lot of people who can't muster enough courage to say kaya ko yan when faced with an opportunity or a challenge. The low self expectation cause a lot of us to believe we are incapable of excellence that's why we settle for mediocre. Just imagine the possibilities if we all believe we can do better. It would mean better products, better customer experience, better quality of life.

Go get that job and then succeed in it. kaya mo yan!

Who Do You Work For?

2011-10-22T20:42:00.000+08:00

The logical answer of course is your employer. To say otherwise is to invite criticism that are you are being a smart aleck.

Changing the way you look at this whole idea of working for another may change your attitude about how you deal with work.

Think of it this way, you are running your own business, you are therefore working for yourself and you are your own product or service. What do your employers represent then, you may ask. They are your customers and in order for your business to flourish, you have to make them happy. Their happiness improves the market value of your product. Your ability to do more than expected makes your product attractive both to them and other potential customers. The more attractive you are, the more people will be interested to retain your services, hence the better job pricing offers.

When you think of work as all part of your own business to improve your stock, you will realize that everything you do is an investment. Your putting more value for your employer's time and money, your being easy to work with, your turning out quality work and your making your customers' customers happy - these all lead to your own business success.

This isn't really a secret. Those who look at their careers with entrepreneurial eyes moved up in their respective careers because they deliberately pursued success. While others wait for entitlement, those who took responsibility for their own career advancement surged forward.

So, who do you work for? You work for yourself and everyone else is your customer. Your career success depends on your ability to take an entrepreneurial approach to work.

Are You Putting Your Strengths to Good Use?

2011-09-09T09:03:00.002+08:00

In a book written by Marcus Buckingham entitled "Now Discover Your Strengths", he mentioned a research that showed only 20 out of 100 people work in jobs that fully utilize their strengths. If the same is true in the

Philippines

, it means that 80% of our workforce is not achieving their full potentials. One of those millions of people could be you or me! How do we make sure that we are on the better end of the statistics or better yet, how do we add up to the statistics of people who are doing work that fully utilize their strengths so there can be more than 20%?

Buckingham said that there are three major ingredients to one's strengths. The first one is talent. The test, strengths finder identified 36 types of talents. They are: Achiever, Activator, Adaptability, Analytical, Arranger, Belief, Command, Communication, Competition, Connectedness, Consistency, Context, Deliberative, Developer, Discipline, Fairness / Empathy, Focus, Futuristic, Harmony, Ideation, Inclusiveness / Includer, Individualization, Input, Intellection, Learner, Maximizer, Positivity, Relator, Responsibility, Restorative, Self-Assurance, Significance, Strategic, Woo. Go to this website to find out more about what they mean. http://strengthstest.com/theme_summary.php. You could demonstrate a variable number and combinations of any of those talents. You may also want to check out Richard Step's free version of strengths finder test here.

The second ingredient is your skills, your learned and demonstrated ability. The third, the amount of knowledge you possess in your chosen field. Two out of these 3 ingredients can be developed. Talent on the other hand is part of our nature. It also, to a great degree affects how we develop knowledge and skills. Let me use myself as an example here. The strengths finder test shows that communication is one of my talents. I also have a great deal of interest in it that's why I’m naturally drawn to information and venues that help develop my desire for self expression. I develop knowledge and skills in communication much more easily compared to another individual who is probably more intelligent but lacking in this particular talent. The point I’m making here is that if you expose yourself to information and work that utilize your talents, you will develop strengths and achieve your full potential much faster just like an athlete who found the right sport for him or herself.

I have devised a simple way of determining if you are utilizing your strengths at work by asking four questions. Here they are:
1. What would you consider as your strengths? (It would help to buy the book strengthsfinder 2.0 by Dr. Seligman to help you determine this.)
2. What are your weaknesses?
3. Which parts of your work do you like the most and energize you?
4. Which parts of your work leave you tired and depleted.
Write your answers below.

My Strengths	My Weaknesses
Part of my job that energizes me	Part of my job that leaves me tired and depleted.

After answering these questions, you should be able to see patterns between your strengths and the part of your work that you really like to do. The same goes with your weakness and the part of your work that tires and depletes you. When you work using your strengths, you will find work to be energizing and engaging. When you don't, you spend much more energy doing the work that's why you get so stressed out. Imagine what you are left with to do if you can't find anything inspiring nor energizing about your work!
One of the hardest things to do is to turn weakness into strength. A friend went to take BS Math in college because she wanted to turn her math weakness into strength. It turned her into an average math teacher who eventually moved on to teaching language because she finds math too taxing and stressful. Imagine how much better she would have been she had taken language in the first place.

The first step towards working with and developing your strengths is self awareness. I believe people owe it to themselves to go into a journey of self discovery. After realizing one's strengths, one should find opportunities to use it to the hilt. But one must not be contented with just utilizing one's skills. One must also engage in broadening one's knowledge and skills to further develop one's strengths. Sharpen the saw as Stephen Covey, author of the book 7 habits of highly effective people would have it. The last step is to develop a career plan along one's strength. This should help you live a more productive and meaningful professional life. Here

Of Love and Work

2011-08-31T19:24:00.001+08:00

One of the works we do as recruiters is to separate the grains from the chaffs, the men from the boys, the ladies from the girls the haves and the have-nots, the diamonds from the coals. In the years that I've been involved in this work I have observed some patterns that separate great candidates from the mediocre ones. Is it their pleasing personality, their ability to articulate, their dilligence or is it their high IQ? I say not. This is of course not to say that these qualities do not come in handy. They do, but they are not the differentiator. You can have all these but if you don't love what you are doing your success becomes limited.

To say that you love your job is much more than paying lip service to it. A spouse for example believes it when he/she is being loved not because of what is heard but because of what is seen and experienced.

You can tell if a person loves his work because s/he invests in getting better at it. I'm not talking about just pursuing continuous education here. I've seen too many people who completed advanced education but have nothing to show for it in terms of quality of work. People who choose to do the things they love put every bit of what they learn to action. Well, maybe not every bit but I'm sure you know what I mean.

These people are updated, up-to-date and continually updating themselves to improve their craft. They take interest in how to do things better and search for a way to do them. If they can't find, they invent, they create.

You know you love your job when you take pride in it. This reminds me of the "bug exterminator" character in that movie Ant Bully. That guy demonstrated an almost obsessive take on his job. Something that is not strange for somebody who really have the love and the passion for what he is doing. I think the best indicator of love for one's work is when one misses it in the same way tha person misses another important person. In short, people who curse Mondays because it means returning to work are people who most likely hate their job.

Every employer wants to hire people who love their job, because these people are great at what they do and are continually getting better. According to Gallup Poll in the US, only about 20% of the working population love their job, the others either like, indifferent or hate their work. Which side of statistic are you in? Again, it's easy to say you love your work, but the important question is how do you show it?

Who is Responsible for your Professional Growth?

2011-07-19T11:15:00.001+08:00

Taking full ownership of your career development is the proactive answer to the subject matter. I'd bet that most readers would have the same answer. It's ironic, considering that the great multitude don't seem to behave in that proactive manner. It is ironic too that many of us dream of career success and yet we wait for breaks and depend on others who have more power to prepare us and then offer us the opportunity. It is of no wonder why we are often frustrated, disappointed, feeling used, bitter and victimized by our own victim mentality.

Dependency and a bad sense of entitlement are the enemies of career success. People who wait for their company to send them to training are left behind by those who take the matter of professional development into their own hands. People who think that tenure and long hours of work alone will get them the coveted promotion or salary increase will be outran by those who deliver better results at shorter amount of time. Those who show leadership despite the absence of a title will soon have that title while those who gripe more and work less will find themselves griping some more and working much lesser.
Sometime ago when I was younger, I heard somebody wise said that the only person who can promote you is yourself. Your bosses just act on the imminence of your promotion. That's because if they fail to act on it, another boss (from another company) will.

Here's my call to action. Take charge of your career success by drawing a road map to it, identifying all the key actions and working hard to learn and then demonstrate those necessary skills. If your company is unwilling to invest on your professional development or is doing a lousy job at it, do it yourself. The return on your investment of time, money and effort will be exponential.

What Values Do You Bring to Work?

2011-06-29T09:13:00.006+08:00

Finding a job is easy. Succeeding in it is the real challenge. In the last few days I met people who have all the right opportunities to make it big but failed to do so on the account of their failure to capitalize both on the opportunity and their abilities.

This happens when we fail to acknowledge the importance of what we do and why we do it. The "why" part of the last sentence gives us a sense of purpose, a motivation to give it our best, without which all we'll see is the amount of time we spend at work and the financial entitlement for those spent hours. We fail to account for our contribution. In fact we might not even want to talk about results, just hours spent or a semblance of effort. The "whys" represent or manifest our values.

So, what values do you bring to work? What gives you a sense of purpose to give your job your best? What do you want people to say about you and your contribution after you are gone? Is it a sense of achievement, Family, personal growth, financial success, helping others, material possessions, a sense of integrity, fairness, making a difference? What, and how do you manifest or intend to manifest them. The what and how of work is easy, it's the why that gives us the real drive to succeed.

Here's my call to action, write yourself a list of things that you value the most. Rank them by order of importance. Ask yourself how you intend to show that you do value them both inside and outside the workplace and then make a commitment to really show them.

How do you know that the things you said you value are authentic? If you are having difficulty matching action with values and finding it difficult to keep up with your commitment, it isn't authentic. The opposite is true if it is. If you are having trouble keeping up with the values you identified, maybe you should rethink them or rethink your job. Maybe you are not in the right one.

If you followed this advice, I'd love to hear how it changed the way you see and deal with work.

Cast A Wider Net

2011-06-27T22:49:00.000+08:00

If you want to catch more fish, you should go where they are and then cast a wider net. If you can't do both, you'll be in for a lot of frustration.

If you want to catch the big opportunities that come your way, you should prepare for it by increasing the size of your net so to speak. Widen your net by broadening your knowledge, improving your skills, maintaining a positive attitude and removing obstacles that stand between you and your dreams.

How much of these have you done? How far are you willing to go?

Sometimes, it's not the lack of opportunity that causes us to fail, it's our unreadiness to take them on when they come along.

10 Skills You Need to Succeed in Your Career

2011-06-20T10:27:00.000+08:00

Here are some of the skills that I believe everyone who is serious about moving up in their career needs in order to succeed.

Customer Care - No matter if you are in the front lines or not, you have customers. They are either inside or outside the organization. Your success depends on your ability to serve them well and build a strong relationship with them. Reading up on customer service concepts and practices, attending seminars and possessing a customer-focused attitude should help you acquire this very important skill.
Problem Solving and Decision making - Being able to identify problems and being able to recommend or initiate the application of solutions is a valuable skill that bosses are sure to appreciate. The higher you go up in the organization, the more you'll need this skill. Read up on topics like continuous improvement, Kaizen, Business Process Improvement or Re-engineering or Six Sigma.
Personal Effectiveness - The ability to initiate personal change to achieve one's goal is an all important competency. Read up on Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Follow Brian Tracy and other Personal Effectiveness Guru.
Leadership - John Maxwell said that leadership is not a position but a disposition and I agree. If you want to become an effective leader, you need to learn it. There is a whole bunch of useful books on leadership that I can recommend. On top of the list are; Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell and Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.
Teamwork - Everybody wants a good team player. Nobody wants to work with people who are quarrelsome, difficult to be with and uncooperative. Some people think it's cool to be difficult, it's not. Learn to align yourself with your organization's goal or get out of it. Be committed to your role and work in cooperation with others. Enrich your emotional bank account with others and you'll be well on your way to being a great team player.
Flexibility - Organizations are getting more and more dynamic and changes happen at breakneck speed. Your job description won't be able to keep up with these changes. This is why you need to look beyond those JDs and do what you can to contribute. The more you are able to go outside that JD box, the more it will help you prepare for moving up in your career.
Learning - By the time you graduate from school, half the things you have learned would have been already old or obsolete. Lifetime employability means being able to learn new things and apply them to work. Establish a learning habit and apply as much of what you know at work.
Communication - Written, face-to-face and Communicating with the public are invaluable skills. They are sought after and key to your performance and leadership. No body who is expecting to succeed at work is exempted from continually developing their ability to communication. In fact I know some people who are successful on the account of their being great communicators. Continually improve your written communication skills, Join Toastmasters and learn assertive communication.
Creativity - is an essential ingredient to innovation and innovation is an important ingredient to profitability. It is of no wonder why companies seek people are able to show this skill. Creative people are capable of thinking out of the box, take risk and sell their ideas to others. Attend a creativity workshop, read about it and most importantly, look at what you can improve at work and take the necessary risk of challenging the process.
Technology - We're not going back to the type writer. Technology is just going to be more and more advance. Lagging behind on technology awareness is a dangerous thing in this world where organizations want to do things faster and more efficiently. Be always on the look out for what new technology is available and learn them.

Take an idea and then run away with it.

Of Love and Work

2011-06-02T13:12:00.000+08:00

Brand You

2011-04-25T11:55:00.000+08:00

Your name is a brand name. It represents the kind of experience you offer. Whether you intend to or not, you have a brand. In the same way that the products and services you avail of have brands, so do you. Some brands are more well known than others. Some are preferred more than others because they are known for delivering on their promise.

When you avail of products or services you consider value for money depending on your need. Do you want high quality, low price, prestige, overall experience? You look at product/service reputation to guide you in choosing. When you experience a product or service, you form an opinion on whether or not it is worth your time and money. In this day and age of easy access to massive communication media, you can shout out to the world about your experience with a certain brand. Others pick up the information and use it as reference for making their own choices.

Now, think about potential employers or clients. They have the same privilage of choice as you have. Now that information is so easy to access, they have the best opportunity of knowing about your brand more than people have in the past. They can check out available information about you on the web or talk to people you know with or without you knowing. And in the principle of "better to err on the side being too careful", their decision to avail of your product or service will be affected by what other people say about their own experience with your brand. The phrase "your reputation precedes you" has never been more true than now. It is for this reason that you need to take care of your own brand.

How to do it? It takes more than posting a good CV online or watching what you say on facebook although I must say that they help a lot. What you write online that people pick up are advertisements. If you advertise well, you will attract a lot of attention. However, having experienced "untruth in advertising" people are now more wary of just believing what you say. They look for confirmation and they have a way of doing that. Now, what people say about you carry more weight than what you say about yourself.

A highly saleable product or service is very seldom a result of well schemed advertising. If they can't stand for what they promise, consumers call them overrated hypes and move on. Customer loyalty is a result of collectively positive brand experience. Take this to heart as you mind your own brand. Everyday is an opportunity to offer a positive brand experience with your customers, co-employees, boss, friends and even strangers as we don't know when these strangers will turn out to be one of the aforementioned relationships.

To sum these all up, be the brand you want to build, watch what you say because words can build or damage your brand reputation and lastly, strive to offer positive brand experience with others. Remember, it's brand You.

On Stepping Up

2011-04-24T20:17:00.000+08:00

Who will tell you that you are ready to take your career to the next level? It won't be your boss, your peer, your customers or anyone else except you. If they say it and you agree, they would just be stating the obvious. If they say you can do better or more and you disagree, they are wrong only for as long as you say they are.

I remember when I was just at the beginning of my career. I was a training assistant then at 7-Eleven here in the Philippines. I used to conduct company orientation and new employee training. I also assisted Training consultants who facilitate the more interesting training. After I assisted our consultant who conducted our basic supervisory course, I went to my manager and said, I can run that workshop better because I know the business better. I remember my boss' hesitation. I said to her that I will design the program and the slides and I will show her that I can run that workshop. I never looked back since then.

If you look beyond my bragging, you will realize that what I did was not unique at all. Everything that you did in advancing your career came with a personal decision to step up no matter whether you did it on your own or if you acted on the encouragement of others. The more important element of stepping up is the decision you make.

I met a lot of people who invest in a lot of training and schooling and still end up not doing what they dream of doing because they feel they are not yet ready. On the other hand some people just say, yes I can do it and then go ahead and do it. They make mistakes but they never let mistakes stop them from what they really want to do, they learn and then they try again.

If you are waiting for the time when you are absolutely ready to move up, that time may never come because we can never be completely ready. Sometimes we just need to take a leap of faith and accept the risk that go with it.

Are You Searchable?

2010-12-07T14:11:00.000+08:00

If you consider yourself as very good at what you do but you are difficult to find, it is possible that you are missing out on some juicy career opportunities. You are no different from a very beautiful website (Aesthetically that is) but could not be found through the search engines. You will become a beautiful secret that is kept from the world. The good thing about it is that very few people will badger you about an opportunity. The bad thing is opportunity searching becomes one way, that is you are not allowing opportunities to find you.

What is so good about being searchable? I can count a number of reasons why you should be. Here's one; if you are as good as you should be, people will line up to see you and find out how they (their companies) can benefit from you. This gives you a lot of job and career opportunity choices. Job offers will give you a good idea about the price you command in the market. Most importantly, you don't have to stay in a job you hate when you have options of finding a better job with a better boss and team. See Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand

How do you make yourself searchable? That is not really hard to do nowadays with all the social networking sites and online job boards around. However, even if you have tons of social networking memberships but do not have the savvy to make your skills and talent searcheable, the only people who will find you online are the people who are using your name to find you in Google. That is not what I want to talk about here.

If you want people who are looking for the kinds that have your talent, skills and experience, here a re a couple of things you should do.

Make yourself accessible through various job sites. The biggest in the Philippines are Jobstreet and JobsDB. There are several up and coming sites but these are the two you should not do without. Keep your profile comprehensive and updated. Your skills and experience. should be properly stated in the slots allocated for them. Why? because those are tagged. When searchers like me do their search those information are called out.

Keep an updated profile in Linkedin. A hoard of head hunters are on consistent prowl for talents there. They use all sorts of schemes to mine linkedin of potential employees. If you don't have a linkedin account now, you are missing out on an opportunity to be found. Register now and painstakingly work on your profile. There are other social networks of the linkedin kind, find them and try them out as well.

Don't get cute with descriptions such as creative, self starter, resourceful, team player and other nonsense. They really don't mean anything to recruiters. What you should write in your profile are major accomplishments that define your career or your professional experience. That's really what they want to know.

Mind what you say online. I cannot stress this enough. When people find you on Twitter, Facebook, or your blog what they should see is someone they would want to hire, not a whiner, a slacker or a quarrelsome fellow. This is why it's important to be mindful of how you come across in the social web.

Take good care of your image on the web. To those who do not know you will judge you by what they see online.

Self Imposed Limitations Can Harm Your Career

2010-11-26T11:37:00.000+08:00

Do you remember a time when an opportunity opened up and you feel that you really like the job, believe that you can do it but do not have the nerve to try? You let it pass and then wonder later what would have happened had you grabbed the opportunity. In order not to feel bad, you sour-grape by telling yourself you made the right decision, you would have failed anyway.

What I just mentioned is a form of self imposed limitation that hinders us from taking a risk in making a career decision. Our fear of failure can limit us and hinder us from achieving full potential. Here are some of the other self imposed limitations that we should watch out for:

Negative Emotions

Sadness, anger, bitterness, self pity, anxiety and fear are just some examples of negative emotions that can manifest as we do our work. These negative emotions cause stress that lead to poor performance and you know how poor performance affect your career adversely.

Victim Mentality

Some people find it more convenient to blame others for their failures than to take the necessary actions. Some say they are never given a break, while others say they do not get the help that they need in order to succeed in their work. This is what I always share with people. Take responsibility for your own actions, and more importantly, take more responsibility for your own career growth. A break or opportunity opens up to those who seek it. Those who seek it do not ask for it, they show that they are ready for it. Self-driven people do not wait for the company to train them, they train themselves. They buy good books about their jobs, search the web for new methodologies or benchmark with successful fears.

See Strategic Discernment: Building Relationships, Overcoming Politics, and Finding Career Success

Conflicts with others

Having poor relationship with your co-workers is a sign of your inability to adjust to the various personalities that abound at work. You can be branded as a trouble maker and a difficult person to work with. If this sticks as your reputation, people will refuse to work with you and will even go to the extent of “getting even.”

Bad Habits

These are too many to count. Laziness however, tops the list carelessness and inattention to details follows very closely. These are usually caused by the person’s lack of interest in the job. My advice for people who hate their jobs is always, QUIT! Find the job that you like and show that you like it. Well, some people can be plain lazy and that will not change even if they change jobs.

Inability to trust others

Lack of trust in others can hinder you from communicating with them, fixing conflicts with them and collaborating with them. It helps to help people help you trust them, know what I mean? This works by giving people a chance to earn your trust.

Lack of Commitment

People who see their situation at work as something temporary do not normally give their best. They are waiting for the next train to bring them to the place they really want to be. The problem is, sometimes the train doesn’t come or take longer than expected but they continue to work with certain level of tentativeness. They could have succeeded in this one had they given their full commitment. I’ve always seen signing a contract of employment as a commitment to do your best in that job. If you fail to satisfy, you fail to serve. If you fail to serve, you fail to please, if you fail to please, you fail to grow career-wise.

Lack of Direction.

People who float around waiting for fate to bring them to their destiny are the people who take the longest to get there. They do what needs to get done and get by on a day to day basis. They are the opposite of people who are more deliberate in their attempts to achieve their goal. People who have personal career vision and create a road map to get there work hard because they are inspired by their own vision.

These self imposed limitations are too many to say that at one point or another, we are not guilty of showing them. What is important is that now that we know, we need to recognize them and veer from them by embracing the right work and career attitude.

How Organization Savvy Are You?

2010-11-22T21:38:00.000+08:00

While intelligence, technical know-how and experience help in getting the job done, it is organizational savvy that makes employees contribute more to the success of the organization that also lead to their own professional success. There is so much more to joining a company than logging in for work and getting the work done. An organization is a living system and the condition of its existence is reflected by how well the people in it show their understanding of the importance of the organization. How well do you contribute to organizational effectiveness? Here are a few statements to reflect on. You may rate yourself using the following scale:

1 – Nope, absolutely not me

2 – There are those few fleeting moments when I think about it

3 – Somewhat like me

4 – I breath it, I live it, yep, definitely me

1. _______I know the company’s mission, vision and core values and what they mean. I strive to live by them as I also expect others to do so.

2. _______I treat customers as the most important persons in our business. I go the extra mile in order to exceed their expectations

3. _______I do not let internal problems leak out to clients because it doesn’t serve a purpose. I instead call the company’s attentions to these problems or help in solving them.

4. _______I concern myself with company goings on by reading memos and new policies. I ask questions when I don’t understand and express my opinion when I don’t agree with some policies while keeping my mind open to other reasons why such policies are implemented.

5. _______I expect to be heard even if I am not the leader but I do not expect to be followed if the leader does not agree with my opinion. I understand that the ultimate authority, responsibility and accountability for such decisions are not mine but of my superiors, hence I commit to team action plans even when I don’t agree with it initially.

6. _______I understand that in order for a business to continue, it needs to be profitable; hence I exert effort to contribute to its profitability by increasing my productivity and managing resources assigned to me including materials, IT resources and company time.

7. _______I know that in order to contribute more, I need to learn more and perform better, hence I engage in quests for personal improvements by reading books related to my work or attending training.

8. _______I envision becoming one of the leaders of the organization. I prepare my self by learning about leadership and management.

9. _______I’m not a jerk. I deal with my co-workers and leaders respectfully. I’m not difficult to deal with; I try not to make life difficult for others. I do not insult or give insulting remarks to others that will adversely affect their self esteem. (See The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't)

10. _______I participate in company activities like general assemblies, company outing, parties and others not only for my own enjoyment but to grab the opportunity to connect with the rest of the team on a more personal level. This is because I accept that it is the employees’ individual responsibility to help build a positive working environment by making themselves available in these company events.

Ed’s Interpretation

31-40: You’re the man/woman! You have a high organization savvy quotient! Organizations need people like you. You have a complete appreciation of the roles individuals play when they join the organization. You also completely immerse and align yourself with the organization you join. People like you are often trusted and respected in the organization and often move up to take on bigger responsibilities in the company.

21 – 30: You are almost there. You understand the roles and responsibilities, you strive to contribute more but are having problem with consistency. You may use the aforementioned questions as a checklist of the things you need to improve on in order to contribute optimally to organizational effectiveness.

16 – 20: You probably appreciate your value to the organization and vice versa but are having problems with the amount of commitment you are willing to make. It’s either because you haven’t built enough emotional attachment to the organization you are working with or are still lacking in personal direction. You need to decide if you believe in the company you are working for and the people you are working with. The sooner you are able to establish personal concern for the betterment of the organization and the people in it, the better your level of organizational engagement will be.

10 to 15: You must have thought that you are being paid for your precious time and not much else. You are a genius at finding ways to escape responsibilities and are most likely coasting along until you find the next best opportunity to be paid higher for coasting along. You need to reevaluate your values. And decide whether you can make a commitment to other people or just yourself. If you can’t work with other people, why don’t you try just working for yourself.

It is not one’s tenure or the number of hours spent at work that determines the employee’s level of engagement but his or her ability to align with the organization’s purpose, cooperate in all it’s action and help create a positive working environment that exudes trust, respect and support. Organizational savvy is a competency that one can bring along wherever one goes. And wherever one goes with this competency, one is sure to succeed.

Exercising Due Diligence in Job Hunting

2010-11-13T11:43:00.002+08:00

Wikipedia says this about Due Diligence -"Due diligence" is a term used for a number of concepts involving either an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care. BusinessDictionary.Com gave this general definition of the term "Measure of prudence, responsibility, and diligence that is expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent person under the circumstances." Read more:

People or businesses exercise due diligence because they want to know if they are getting the best out of an engagement before they sign a contract. Employment is an engagement that involves signing a contract, hence it is wise to do the same before getting yourself engaged. Besides, your potential bosses are likely to do the same.

What are the things you need to look into before signing an employment contract?

Find out about the company's work culture. Ask yourself if the work environment is something that you would enjoy to be in. Remember, you will spend eight hours or more everyday in that environment. Make sure that it will not turn your working life into a living hell.

Look into how the company support its employees to succeed in their jobs. Some companies provide all the tools and support while others will leave you to sink or swim. Which do you prefer? Decide based on your preference.

Who will be your boss/es? What kinds are they? Find out from people who have worked with them. If they have linkedin accounts, see if they are getting endorsements. Bad bossess normally have little or none from their staff. Remember, I said staff, not their peers or own bosses. Those are different.

How do they value their employees? How employees talk about their company speaks volume of their appreciation of the company's program. Do they have good benefits and compensation package? Does the benefit package add up to the employees' satisfaction or it just stops employees from leaving the company's hellish working condition? Googling the company might get you some social networking information where people talk about the company. Find out what they are saying. However, know that some of these are baseless. You need to be more discerning when you take this route of investigation.

See some Perfect Phrases for Negotiating Salary and Job Offers: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases to Help You Get the Best Possible Salary, Perks or Promotion (Perfect Phrases Series)

What is the company's growth prospects? Are you joining a company that is small but with great ambitions of growth? Do they have a good plan for getting there? Will they involve you in creating that great future? Is it company with good prospect for expansion? Are you being hired because of that? Is it a company that is winding down? Are you being hired as one of the replacements for many people who are beginning to jump the ship? Is your mission to turn things around? I think these are important information that people looking for work should find out and consider in their decision making.

Compare your own values with their own. What are your personal tenets that you will never compromise? Look at the core values of the your potential employer. Do they match?

The most important thing that you should be able to do before signing a contract is to compare expectations with your potential boss. Lay down yours, ask for his/hers. You have to establish a common ground before deciding to sign your employment contract. See if there are clear performance standards. This will give you a clear basis for doing your job.

Managing Your Interviewer's Impression

2010-11-09T11:00:00.003+08:00

I must admit that in my years of experience in the HR practice, I noticed that recruitment professionals have certain preference in applicants that often affect their hiring decisions. It isn't really just the recruitment people, even the hiring decision makers or the ones who do the final interview have certain stereotypical mindset about ideal candidates. Because of this they sometimes lose out on good candidates that do not fit their picture of that ideal candidate. Their loss, right? If it is a desirable job, it is your loss too!

Here are some suggestions that may or may not get you the job that you want but will unlikely ruin your chances. Ready?

Don't be late. need I say more? I know, sometimes it feels like the traffic and the rest of the universe is conspiring to make you late so make sure that you don't give them a chance to succeed. Wake up early and go to your interview early. If you come in too early, you can always kill time somewhere near and then come up to the client's office when it's near the time. If you are five to 10 minutes early, that will be very good.

Make an effort to look good. Be in a business attire even if you are applying for a job that includes manual labor. Recruiters will never find you at fault for being well groomed. On the other hand, if your recruiter is more discriminating, you're looking like you were just told to buy something in the store may not sit well with her.

Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job

Be warm and upbeat. Look happy. Nobody wants to hire someone who looks like she's about to have a nervous breakdown. Here's something that I learned from a Neuro Linguistic Programming seminar. Before you go to a meeting, stand upright, raise your chin a little bit and walk like a king... or a queen. Walk like you are already a winner. Before you get to the recruiter's office your body will react as if you are already a true winner. My own ritual. Before an important meeting, I would go to the rest room and look at myself in the mirror and manage a good smile. I bring that smile up to the receptionist and then to the person I'm meeting. Try it, it helps.

Know a little more than the name of the company and the position you are applying for. Recruiters are always willing to explain the company and the position but they are secretly impressed if you are able to answer the question "what do you know about our company?" This means you did some research before you went to the interview. Take note of crucial information like the nature of business, the company's achievements and special distinctions that they have gathered through the years.

Prepare an answer that in effect says you are the perfect candidate for the job without sounding arrogant about it. Recruiters like confident candidates but a lot of them despise arrogance. Focus on relevant experience, achievements that mirror their expectations and showing them that you know your craft.

Be friendly to everyone you meet in the company, from the security guard, the receptionist, everyone you come across with. It will certainly not hurt to do that and it might give you a very important endorsement after your interview is finished. Remember, your recruiters talk to those people you met along the way and will listen to their opinion if they give any. It would be best if you are able to give a positive impression that they can rave about when they talk to your recruiter. You know the opposite of that.

I'll stop here for now. Keep tuned in for more tips.

Make Your Job Application Stand Out

2010-11-08T14:15:00.002+08:00

This in an article I wrote for http://misorjobs.com in 1988. It's a website dedicated to offering career opportunities in Misamis Oriental. Here's a link to the original posting
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First, let me show you how recruiters like me see your job applications. My team at ExeQserve and I receive hundreds of applications everyday, sometimes they even reach a thousand. In order to manage our work and our time, we need to implement methods for efficiently seeping through those bundles and bundles of job applications. We actually don’t get to see all of them. Most of the applications fail our auto-filter criteria and end up in a resume database which is a virtual junkyard that we mine from time to time, if we are not too busy with new applicants. Whose resumes are likely to end up there? Those who have no or poorly written application letters, those whose resume’s file name is “resume” and those whose resume contents are too far fetched for the job.

Here are a five steps to what you can do to make your application stand out from thousands of other mediocre applications:

Job Hunting Tips for People With Not-So-Hot Backgrounds: 150 Smart Tips That Can Change Your Life (Career Savvy)

Step 1: Look closely at the requirements of the job as posted and ask yourself if there is indeed a match between what they are looking for and what you have to offer. Don’t bother sending your application if you yourself can’t find a match.

Step 2: So you believe there is a match, great! Now, write a good application letter that describes why you think you are suitable for the job. Putting your personal qualities there is cool but you need to do more than chest beating, you need to specifically mention relevant experiences and skills. Emphasize also your desire to contribute to the company’s productivity and profitability. The web is teeming with application letter templates, go Google.

Step 3: Work on your resume. First, change the file name. You won’t believe how many people use the file name “resume” on their resumes, it’s mind boggling! Let’s say I will apply for an HR Director position, I will name my file “ecebreo-hrdirector. If I apply for a Training Manager job, I’ll save my resume as ecebreo-training-manager. If a job you are looking for needs your Microsoft Certified Professional certification, you can save your resume file as “yourname-MCP. This will alert the recruiter that you have one of the critical requirements for the job.

Step 4: Work on your resume content for each application. Don’t send a one-size fits all resume if you are applying for different jobs. It’s lazy and ineffective. Be honest with your resume information. Save everyone some time and disappointment by not writing lies in your resume. The farthest it can get you is the first interview. If you get past all the screening with lies in your CV, you should change your career and consider becoming a con artist.

Finally, consider this. If you are good at what you do, someone will hire you. The application letters and resumes will get you through the door but it is your personal and professional qualities that will get you through and through. Invest in personal and professional development. Strive not to find a job but to build a career.

If you are looking for a job now, try checking out ExeQserve's Career Page and send your resume to jobs@exeQserve.com

Finding Career Bliss

2010-11-07T10:56:00.001+08:00

Have you been floating around all your professional life? Are you unhappy with the current state of your career and you just can't pinpoint the reason why? Do you feel you can do better but do not have the motivation to really pursue your passion? Or do you even know what your passion is? If you answer yes to all but the last question, you are absolutely not alone. Millions of professionals just go through the motions of work, finding it a necessary evil to get sustenance and maintain their lifestyles.

Whatever happened to find the work you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life? The truth is very few people know and dare to find that elusive road to professional bliss. Time to give your self a serious whack on the side of your head and wake-up from your zombie-like stupor of going through the motion and find the work that will really make you happy. It is now time to answer the important questions and make the necessary decisions that will lead you to the careers where you will truly shine inside and out.

What are the Things that You Really Love to Do?

Do you love writing, talking to people, computers, cooking, decorating, selling, creating something out of nothing, what do you really love to do? Have you ever asked yourself this question and come up with a definite answer? One big problem that I experience from young professionals is their utter “clueless-ness “ on what they really love to do. If you cannot answer this question, some soul-searching is in order. When you are able to describe in specific terms what you love to do like “ I love to teach, it gives me a certain degree of high to know that I am able to share my knowledge with other people,” You’ll pretty much have a clearer idea of what you should be doing with your career. Come up with a number of similar statements. About four or five is a good number. It gives you options and options are good.

What can you be great at and not simply good at?

All normal human beings have the capability to be great at something, you and I included. But in order for it to happen, we need to recognize the talents and potentials that we have. Knowing and recognizing your talents and potentials is an important complement to your answer to the question “what do you love doing?” If you listed singing as one of the things you love to do but you risk physical injury every time you try to and that’s because you are as tone deaf as “tone-deafs” come, then it narrows your options of things you can do with your career. Compare the things you love to do with what you can be great at and you’ll have a pretty good picture of your choices.

What will make you complete?

Sounds like a popular commercial doesn’t it? But have you seriously thought about what will make your life complete as far your career is concerned? Have you imagined yourself sitting on a rocking chair sometime in the future assessing how your life has been and counting the things that you’ve done that really mattered? Take your answers to the first and second question and decide how far you want to take them to make you feel complete and fulfilled. Make it your personal mission statement. Example: “ My mission is to help people achieve personal and professional success through training and coaching.”

What should you be doing with your life?

After crafting your personal mission, it is now important that you are able to create a roadmap towards getting from here to there. This is a critical part of your journey. If you’ve started on a path that is so different from where you want to be, you need to plan a sustainable strategy for redirection. A former staff of mine shifted from being a Human Resource Specialist to a Computer Programmer by first enrolling in a class. He made some personal investment of time and money and some sacrifices in terms of lifestyle because he recognize that getting to where he wants to be from where he is require discipline and determination. I’m glad to report that he is now a project manager in a software development company. He performed better as a programmer than as an HR practitioner because he realized that this what he really wants to do. Your road map to success just like any road map, has to make sense. Planning a seamless transition will help you get rid of the fears that keep people from shifting to the careers that they really want.

Successful career people become successful because they act out of passion for what they do. They pursue excellence in what they do because they have a clear standard of how they should perform. They are no different from athletes who strive to break their personal best. They find ecstasy in knowing that they get better every time. Find your career like athletes find their sport and pursue it with as much intensity and you’ll never go wrong.

Are You a Rock Star?

2010-11-06T12:52:00.002+08:00

What comes to mind when you hear that word “rock star”?

Popular yes, lots of admirers and yes, really, incredibly good at what he/she does.

Nowadays this word rock star doesn’t only mean guitar toting, decibel breaking singing and raging. It also pertains to a caliber of the person in whatever field she belongs to. For example a lot of people are given titles such as rockstar managers like Jack Welch formerly of GE. They call Seth Godin as the rockstar of marketing. I saw a website celebrating the rockstars of blogging in the Philippines which I hope to belong to in the near future. I also noticed that a lot of recruiters here and other countries use the term rockstar to mean hard to find, really excellent, awesome talents and those who can catch them are also called rockstar recruiters.

What qualifies as a rockstar in any field? I’d say that the numero uno requirement is PASSION. Rockstars love what they are doing. They get a certain amount of high when they make breakthroughs in their crafts. I remember a rockstar programmer that I had the opportunity of working with in the past shout “I am invincible!” whenever he is able to complete a difficult program. That girl was an important asset wherever she went and she commands a high price too! You can’t keep a rockstar talent if you can’t afford her because IT PAYS! to be a rockstar!

Rockstars put up an elaborate effort to improve on what they do. They are not just talented, they exploit their talents to the hilt by improving on them. They study and they learn new stuff. I remember Manny Pacquiao starting up as “bara-bara ” brawler who possessed a really strong punch. He’d be beaten up badly before he gives a lucky punch that would fold the opponent. He knew better than to depend on the strength and toughness of his fist so he trained to become one of the masters of the sweet science.

They are also self-driven and self-motivated pursuers of excellence. As a manager and trainer for a long time, I can dare say that no one can claim that a certain rockstar is a product solely of a particular development program. In fact some of these rockstars I know shine amidst the most challenging and scarcest situations. That’s because their own relentless desire to create, innovate and achieve something excellent is their main resource.

That brings me to ask these questions. Are you a rockstar or at the very least rockstar material?

Are you exceedingly passionate about what you do? Do you relentlessly pursue personal improvement and do you not let external limitations stop you from being the rocktar that you are or wanna be? If you are, it will be just a matter of time when your star shines really brightly.

Are You a Good Employee Material?

2010-11-06T12:28:00.003+08:00

Companies love a good employee. One who knows what s/he is doing and does the right thing in order to contribute to the organization’s goals. In this professional world teeming with mediocrity, good employees become rare finds. Companies treasure them and put them in their rightful places in the company. They also become target of poachers who want them to use their good performance in their companies. Wouldn’t it be great to be one of those employees who get juicy offers of better positions and perks in their company or sent offer fillers by other companies? It’s not easy, but wouldn’t you agree that its worth doing?

The next question that comes to mind is how does one become a good employee material? Here are my recommendations:Good employee materials enter an organization with the thought of helping that organization grow. This is an important mind set. There are too many employees who count the number of hours they spend at work yet oblivious of the amount they contribute to the organization. Yes, it’s true that the primary reason for working is one’s physical and material needs but it shouldn’t end there. Assess your contributions to the company not only in terms of time spent but actual results. Are you able to improve processes, make your customers (internal and external) happy? The answer should a resounding yes!

Every one has a choice between being an engineer or a good engineer, a programmer or a good programmer, an employee or good employee. The term “good” connotes competence or being technically and behaviorally adept to the job. This also means continuing education, knowing the latest technology and benchmarking best practices. So ask your self this “am I good at what I’m doing?” Veer away from mediocrity by continually improving yourself.

Make Work Fun...Choose Your Attitude
Project a professional image. Judgments are made about people based on the professional image they display as a result of appearance and behavior. This occurs before the individual’s level of competence or performance is determined. Your professional image is viewed from two perspectives, appearance and behavior. Appearance means your ability to dress appropriately and present yourself in an attractive manner. Behavior on the other hand means your ability to communicate and your effectiveness in the use of proper manners and etiquette. You need to recognize the importance of appropriate personal behavior in dealing with your boss, co-worker and clients.

Good employees are MVP’s. They are the Michael Jordan of their work place. They keep the team together and inspire the team to achieve greater heights of performance. Everyone can be a Michael Jordan if they wish to. Its just a matter of being cognizant of one’s performance and seeing to it one does what it takes to be better.

Social Networking and Your Personal Brand

2010-11-06T11:22:00.001+08:00

Social networking changed the world in a radical way and changed the game in terms of managing one's own career and personal brand. In the olden times (about 5 years ago), when Friendster was THE social network and others were barely a blip in the radar, the network is being used for mostly personal reasons - connect with friends, share profiles and occasionally share photos. Today, that has changed. The advent of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and the likes allowed people not only to share personal information but also share personal thoughts.

Recruiters and would-be employers also found social networking sites as a convenient tool for finding more information about potential employees. All of a sudden, people become like commodities that are open to scrutiny and examination of strangers. For this reason alone, I believe we need to be more careful about what we put out there because it will affect either positively or negatively our own personal brand. Let me cite some examples:

Be wary of your shout-outs. When you say something on your Twitter or Facebook account, it gets red by dozens, even hundreds of people. They form opinion about what you say and also about you on the account of what you say. When you talk about how much you hate your job, your co-worker, your boss or your company, Your friends may commiserate with your pains while others will say you are a whiny lot.

People also look at what you do and what occupies your time. Recruiters like me for example look for signs of whether you are a mere cyber loafer or someone who is passionate about her profession. A lot can be said about what information are seen in your social networking page.

I observed that our social networking activities have become an extension of our personalities. What we put out there contributes to what we offer the world. When people see your profile, what do they see? Do they see something positive or something negative? Are you a desirable person or not? What we project could impact on our professional future.