How to Make Your Own Networking Event Building Your Future Now

How to Make Your Own Networking Event Building Your Future Now Attending networking functions is always a great way to meet and expand on your existing network. However, have you considered putting together your own networking event? Even if you dont have any experience creating and hosting events, this will be a great start! Not to mention an excellent opportunity to meet people and show potential employers you are a go-getter. So where to start? Think about who you would like to invite to the network eventfriends, family, former co-workers, community members? The skys the limit! Fashion a quick list and keep it aside for the time being. Research network events online and also try to remember any network event youve been to. Learn from these resources and start drawing up some ideas for your event. Start with a small event You dont have to get carried away with making a big fancy event. Find a convenient location (maybe a local pub or coffee shop) and go from there. You want the event to be somewhat professional, however, stress the causal environment. Choose a Theme Pick a theme for your network event. Maybe invite a guest speaker in your network that can talk about starting and operating a small business. People love hearing success stories and learning from them. However, when brainstorming themes think about your local areawhat kinds of businesses are popular? Let your imagination fly. Think of other themes that your guests might want to explore at your event especially though guests speakers. Create Marketing material You can design great posters free at Canva. It is a free app and its loaded with a breathtaking amount of templates to jump start your promotional efforts. Start advetizing on Facebook (you can get the word out very inexpensively.) Call and email people. Use LinkedIn. Dont be shy to tell people about your event when you meet them for the first time. People love these types of events especially entrepreneurs and small business owners; therefore, let us many local businesses know about your networking event. At the Event Remember to have fun and remain loose. The ultimately goal at this networking function is to help you expand on your job search and hopefully land you a job, but you dont want to come across that you made it for that reason. Causally drop the idea you are looking for new opportunities when networking. Make sure to talk to as many people as possible. Have some business cards ready to give out (even if you dont have a job you can print out cards showcasing your past work and that you are seeking new opportunities.) Ask for as many contacts as you can. Even if you are shy, this is an event to help you get out of your shell after all, you took the initiative to put it together! Always find ways to network This is only one of many ways to be creative during your job search! It is essential to always network and build new and exciting connections. Even if you are unemployed, putting together a function like this puts a good light on you. Be aware that people around you are always taken notesits hard to come across talented and ambitious individuals; and an event like this may get you the break you need.

Side Hustle Gold 4 Inspiring Womens Stories

Side Hustle Gold 4 Inspiring Womens Stories There are two things to keep in the front of your mind as you put your energy and time into a side hustle.  First, you should be doing it because its something that is clearly on YOUR path, its part of your passions and dreams.  Second, beyond the personal satisfaction, there is the possibility  of huge success and financial payoffs. At Ms Career Girl, we hear about lots of women who have not only survived but thrived.  Here are four that are particularly inspiring. Daina Trout Daina Trout, CEO Co-Founder of Health-Ade Kombucha, is a true example of how “following your gut” â€" Health-Ade’s motto for physical wellness and your personal life â€" can lead to success.  She  grew her kombucha company from her apartment into a national brand in just three years.  After closing a catering company she started with her husband and best friend because it was unfulfilling, they found their next venture in the kombucha Daina had been brewing at home for years. What started as three early entrepreneurs selling 60 bottles a week at local Los Angeles Farmer’s Markets soon grew to a nationally recognized brand selling 36,000 cases a month. Last month, Health-Ade Kombucha received over $7M in venture funding from CAVU Venture Partners. The company plans to use the funds to build a new manufacturing facility in Southern California. Lisa Shaller- Goldberg Lisa Shaller-Goldberg, a mom herself, created the celebrity-loved luxury cashmere and knit brand Minnie Rose with other moms in mind. Aiming to design a brand that allows one to be comfortable, she created pieces that can transition from running to both the boardroom to playing on the playground.Bursting with color while also not forgetting basics, Minnie Rose’s collections are ideal for any women’s wardrobe. Ashley Tyner Ashley Tyrner, a twenty-seven year old young mother, found herself as a food-stamp recipient. In 2015, she turned this hardship into her new child, Farmbox Direct, to ensure that her newborn daughter would have the highest quality food while balancing life as a hectic single mother. Farmbox Direct promotes eating clean food so the body is nourished and fulfilled. “I started Farmbox Direct with a vision of how food should be which is why my goal is to bring the farmers market in it’s best purity to customer’s doors,” says Ashley Tyner, Farmbox Direct’s founder and CEO. Stephanie Synclair Stephanie Synclair, unhappy with her corporate work environment that kept her away from her two-year old son, left her job to purse a career that allowed her to put her happiness and son first. Broke and forced to move back home, Stephanie opened up a natural hair and skincare store in 2010. After getting established in the beautify sector, she began offering coaching lessons where she went through steps of how to successfully grow your business using social media.   Recently, Stephanie launched Shes Iconicâ„¢, which expands her coaching services to woman who may not be ready to completely invest in her full coaching experience. Shes Iconicâ„¢ is an online community that features live streams, trainings and chats to help women balance their health, wealth and mindset. Side Hustle Gold: You Define It. These four inspiring women turned their side hustle into financial gold.  But perhaps your gold is of a different kind.  Who knows, maybe that side hustle youve been pondering will change lives in different ways, and THAT is just as golden. Want still more examples of women who make their visions into reality? Try these for extra credit reading! As a single mom of four kids, Jakki Liberman wanted items for her children that promoted a healthier lifestyle while still being fun. She founded Bumkins Finer Baby Products to do so, and has since partnered with Disney, DC Comics, and Dr. Seuss for designer prints. Maia Haag  is the owner and founder of the multi-million-dollar company I See Me!, the original online hub  providing kids with personalized books and gifts. Haag has created, written, and executed dozens of unique titles allowing children to star in their storybooks. Michele Welsh was overwhelmed when she took her kids to an amusement park, and decided to write her cell phone number on their arms. That day, SafetyTat was born. The child tattoos feature a space to write a phone number, and come in many styles. The Sally Jane  jewelry line was created by mom Sally Jane Waite, who battled Stage IV colon cancer while 7 months pregnant. Each piece  has the Sally Jane signature bumble bee along with the inspiring message to “Bee Courageous, Bee Bold, Bee a Survivor, Just Bee.” Available in multiple styles in both gold and silver, Sally Jane is the perfect gift for women of all ages. Partial proceeds are also donated to cancer research. After working in J. Crews merchandising department for more than a decade, Lisa Greenwald had quite a jewelry collection. Babies always loved when she held them because they would grab and chew on her fun necklaces. The idea for Chewbeads came from the realization that every baby she came in contact with loved to touch her costume jewelry. She launched Chewbeads in 2009 and has since sold more than 140,000 necklaces. After the first year the company developed teething rings, stroller toys and rattles and now have a full line of products including bath and stacking toys. A mother of boys, Jacqueline Smith was always on the go, and often didn’t have time for a nice manicure. Determined to find a solution for perfecting a quick at-home manicure, Jacqueline created Liquid Palisade, a painter’s tape for nails! This beauty solution has been a great success, and is now available in Sephora stores nationwide. Kwany Liu, a new mom-to-be, wanted to help moms stay healthy while also solving common symptoms of pregnancy and nursing. She co-founded Bundle Organics, the leader in nutritious, organic juices for pregnant and nursing women, and has now partnered with master tea artisans Harney Sons on line of organic teas! Each tea is caffeine-free, non-GMO verified, and contains only OB/GYN-approved ingredients. Each one has been specially-blended to ease heartburn, digestion, nausea, and cravings, and even increase lactation. _____ This story is an assembly of press releases highlighting these four womens success.  Full credit is due to dara@wunderlichinc.com and  [emailprotected]  

Agency Recruitment is Totally Screwed Heres Why!

Agency Recruitment is Totally Screwed Heres Why! The recruitment agency business model is grotesquely dysfunctional. It is broken. Yes. It. Is. Certainly for permanent recruitment. We are just so used to it, have it so imbued in our psyche, that we don’t appreciated how farcical and damaging it is. For everybody. Multi-listed, contingent job-orders benefit no-one. Clients, naively thinking they get a better service because they get agencies to compete, actually get a far worse service because they are actively encouraging recruiters to work on speed, instead of quality. Recruiters suffer because even if we want to, we can’t really ‘partner’ or ‘consult’, or ‘value-add’, and in the end we only fill one out of five jobs, if we are lucky, destroying profit in many cases, and the careers of recruiters too, who simply burn out, chasing rainbows. And, the often ignored fact, candidates suffer the most because they do not get service or due care from third party recruiters, who are too busy chasing mythical job orders in competition with five other recruiters, to actually focus on the candidates needs. That’s right. If recruitment worked like accountants, or lawyers, or doctors, or even real estate agents, where the service provider is not working on each case in competition… our recruiters would work on 20% of the orders they currently do, but fill 300% more! And who would benefit the most? Candidates! Yes candidates, who would no longer be treated like cattle, but rather like crucial partners, as they should. No wonder candidates are increasingly avoiding job-boards, and recruiters, and transferring their job search energy to web-searching, social media, and other tactics. Yes, that’s a screwed system all right. It is getting worse as recruitment evolves: Have a look at my wizz-bang chart below (Yes, agreed, I am not a PowerPoint expert. But I did this at my desk at home, late at night after my third bottle of Boags, and trust me, it may not look pretty â€" but what it represents is uglier still): Look at the left circle: It represents all the candidates available for recruiters to place in jobs. Look at the little segment on the right of that circle. That shows the tiny proportion of suitable candidates that recruiters actually access. To this day, most recruiters focus on so called ‘active’ candidates, those that come from job boards, or who are already on the database. There is nothing wrong with these candidates  per se, except that they represent only a tiny percentage of the available people. What is more, because they are actively job-searching, they will in all likelihood be working with other recruiters already, or possibly well down another recruitment process. Which means that you are not likely to place them. You understand that don’t you? It’s not only jobs that are ‘in competition’. It’s candidates too. And in a candidate tight market, a good talent that you have exclusively is a walk-in placement. Do you even think like that? Do you know who you have exclusively? Do you ask? Do you seek to find these people? Look on my chart at the massive pool of candidates most recruiters do not access. There is your opportunity! Now look at the right circle: This represents the majority of clients’ commitment to actually filling the job. We all know that most clients do not give their agency recruiter full commitment. That is what the shaded segment represents. Tiny commitment. In fact, many use third-party recruiters as an afterthought, or in competition. The vast majority of the commitment clients give to filling roles, goes somewhere else, such as the internal recruitment team, or using LinkedIn, or their own recruitment strategies. So right there you have an incredibly dysfunctional situation. The majority of recruiters access only a tiny percentage of the good candidates, and what’s more, secure only a fraction of the clients’ commitment to filling the job. What other professional would deal with the customers on such a flimsy premise? Who else would invest the time and resources, that we recruiters do, on the tiny off-chance that a fee might be generated? But it gets a lot worse. Not only do most recruiters run their businesses on the same basis as someone playing a lottery, they do it in competition with five other agencies. This is ridiculous. Some very significant recruitment companies with massive turnover, still can’t make any profit because such a huge percentage of their staff time is spent on fruitless work that results in no return. In fact many such businesses are now going bust. Their cost base is too high for their income generation ability. And this is why! Their business model is screwed. And it’s a vicious cycle of discontent. Clients get increasingly irritated because they are dealing with low-level recruiters, who don’t do a thorough job. Ironically the fault for this lies with the client, who asks recruiters to compete on the same job, thereby dumbing down the process. Recruiters get disillusioned, desperate, burnt-out, and take shortcuts, which continues the cycle. And of course worst of all, candidates suffer. But it’s not all doom and gloom. In the chart above lies tremendous opportunity, if you look for it. The prize goes to the recruiter who can develop strategies to access those candidates in the segment of the circle that are not active. The skill of bringing top hidden talent, that clients can’t find themselves, to the hiring table. That is the Nirvana we should all be seeking. That is where the fun and the money is. And of course those recruiters who can blend technology with the craft of recruitment, and who can secure a greater percentage of the clients commitment, via retainers, exclusivity, or other partnership arrangements, will differentiate right now, and into the future. So, the winners will be those recruiters who recognise that the way we work now is terminally dysfunctional, and who act to access the parts of my circles that most recruiters do not. Excellent! Got that off my chest. Time for another Boags… This topic is crucial to our industry. Please have your say below.

5 Questions to Ask at Your Performance Review

5 Questions to Ask at Your Performance Review Performance reviews are an excellent time to get feedback and, of course, obsess over if you’re a pro at your job, where your career is heading and if your boss hates you. Or, is that just me? Sitting down with your boss to assess how well you do can be nerve-racking to say the least. However, if you ask the right questions, you can come out feeling empowered and ready to improve your performance and take on the year ahead! In fact, you might even impress your boss with your preparations for the big meeting. Go in with these five questions and youll fly through your evaluation with flying colors! I plan to work on XYZ. What other skills should I work on developing in the coming year? How might you recommend working on these skills? Believe it or not, your resume isn’t as important as you think. Either you’re disappointed or relieved by that statement, but regardless many companies are adopting interview styles that put little to no recognition on resumes and instead weight heavily on skill set and personality. That’s no added interview pressure or anything! Take the initiative to self evaluate where you need to improve prior to meeting with your boss. On meeting day, share these ideas with your boss and request feedback on other areas your skills can be developed. Take notes and, if possible, brainstorm some concrete ways you will develop these skills.   I want to focus on the correct goals. What goals should I focus to achieve before my next performance review? This  is a good time to suggest some goals youve come up with for yourself. Then let your boss tell you if youre on the right track. Your goals should not only be for your individual work, but also for the company. For example, working on calling 10 new leads a week to increase sales opportunities would directly relate to the larger company goal. Your boss might also suggest some additional goals. Dont forget to ask how you can help them achieve their goals. Your boss depends on a  team to help fulfill bigger goals. Show youre the person your boss can count on and itll get your serious brownie points! I love our team and the company and will  definitely  seek  opportunities of growth in the future. How might I find  more  responsibility or potentially a future promotion?   Despite common belief,  millennials actually do care about compensation (seriously who thought we didnt?).  Asking this question will help you in two ways. First, you will find out if there is a glass ceiling. Eventually we all want to move up and if there simply are no higher position for you to step into then your answer is simple and you will need to move out to move up.   Second, asking this question will let your boss will know youre interested in more responsibility. Your boss is busy and they may not realize you have the bandwidth (or ambition) to take on more work. Make sure theyre aware and you may be looking at a promotion in the near future. Where do you see room for growth in my career? Your boss might have ideas on how to add responsibility for you before you even ask!  They might have noticed what a wiz you are with social media and want your input on a recent campaign or how you enjoy communicating directly with the consumer and set you up for some field work. With their vast network, they might throw you a few bones on how to get involved in other projects aligned with your natural talents. Your boss can see skills that you cannot, so trust their advice and give these projects a try! Any advice if you were in my shoes? Your boss has assumably been around the company a lot longer than you. Use their expertise and survival through countless reorganizations to give you pointers in your career. Navigating a career isnt easy (trust me, I know!), but people are a lot more willing to give advice than we might think. Hearing feedback can often be a nerve-racking dose of medicine, but walk in open to feedback and it wont be that bad. In fact,  I bet you’re in for some great feedback per all your MsCareerGirl.com advice youve read!

Where Can I Get a Resume Writing Certification?

Where Can I Get a Resume Writing Certification?Why would I even need a resume writing certification? After all, I can just whip up a decent one without any outside help. Right?Well, not quite. Writing resumes can be a daunting task. There is so much to keep track of, and there are so many things to consider. And most importantly, it doesn't matter how good you are, the reality is that no one is going to ask you for your resume unless you specifically ask for it.A resume writing certification is a great skill to have, especially for those of us who work in this field, and to make your resume easier to write and organize. If you have an existing resume, then you might consider outsourcing the job to someone who knows what they are doing. Now then, where can I get a resume writing certification?First off, it is important to know that there are two ways to do a resume. The first way is the traditional way, where you write the resume yourself. This is usually the more comfortable way to g o because you know exactly what to write. It also tends to be a lot quicker to do as well.The other way is to use a professional resume writer, who does this for a living, which is a very good way to go. The advantage to hiring a professional is that you have someone who knows what they are doing. It is less time consuming and a lot more efficient. It can take days to research and write a resume, and months if you don't have a lot of experience.Now then, there are some different services that offer both kinds of services. One example of this is a staffing service, which provides both resumes and writing certification. Another example is to hire a freelance writer who will write a resume for you. Both of these types of services have their pros and cons, and you should research both before you choose which one to use.Now then, where can I get a resume writing certification? Well, the best place is online. In fact, there are websites such as white labelwriter.com that provide resume wr iting training. They also offer resume development services, and they sell products for job-seekers as well as professionals.Keep in mind, however, that many of these training courses are for informational purposes only. You can also get a resume writing certification on the Internet, but make sure that the training you receive is also relevant to your needs.

Dont Let Your Job Define You

Dont Let Your Job Define You Are you allowing your job to define you? What happens when theres change (downsizing, layoff, mergers)? When you align your value with your job, it impacts your self-worth! It may not be a big surprise to hear that your job is impacting your self-worth. 47% of working adults said they gain equal or greater feelings of self-worth from their jobs and careers as they do from their personal lives. This is according to a study by the University of Phoenix School of Business  conducted by Harris Poll in the first quarter of 2014 which  surveyed more than 1,000 working adults in the United States. Values and Priorities Change- So Should You Is your job aligned with your values? Maybe this was true when you first started, but your values can, and often do, change. In fact, sometimes values change without you even realizing it. This may be one reason you are feeling dissatisfied with your work. If you haven’t evaluated what is most important to you at this stage of your life, now would be a great time to assess your values. Your values provide guidelines for your daily choices and actions. This post on decision making includes a list of values to help get you started. Next, think about what you are most proud of today, inside and outside of work. The reason you are good at your job and feel successful is most likely because your work and your values are aligned and support each other. For example, if you felt good about a report you produced, this may indicate you value providing excellent quality, conducting research or collaborating as part of a team. Dig further and consider which experiences have shaped you into who you are today. Think about any compromises you are not willing to make. Remember, your answers should apply to both your personal and professional life. Avoid Putting All Your Effort In One Basket One day, you may wake up and find you have fallen out of love with your professional life. Changing jobs isn’t the only solution. One way to create a personally and professionally fulfilling life is to volunteer or join activities in line with your personal values. For example, if you have a soft spot for animals, invest free time helping out at an animal shelter. You could help raise money, promote an upcoming event or even walk orphaned dogs. The key is to diversify how you invest your time in case one day you find your job no longer suits you. By getting involved in outside activities, you will surround yourself with other, like-minded professionals involved in something that does provide you with a feeling of self-worth. This also provides you with contacts for new opportunities that align with your current values. Follow Your Passion Whether you believe following your passion is good advice or not, it is at least a great starting point. The things that interest you, you get excited about, or dare I say love, may  about may hold the key to types of jobs that may provide you with a greater sense of self-worth. Use your passion as a launching point to investigate options and research the reality of a career move, not necessarily a direct path to satisfying work. Finding The Right Career Never Ends The study also found that the search for the right career is a life-long quest. Your definition of the right career is a moving target and changes as you go through life based on your changing values and priorities. The good news is that “professionals no longer feel locked into a specific career path,” according to Dr. Sam Sanders, college chair for University of Phoenix School of Business and former human resources executive. There are other influences at play here too. Dr. Sanders says “workers are staying in the workforce longer and the lines between personal lives and work have blurred, so it is not surprising that workers are focused on finding jobs and careers that align with their values and contribute to their feelings of self-worth.”   Own Your Happiness If there is a lesson from this study, it’s that it is up to you to own your career and happiness, no matter what stage of life you are in. And if you need another exercise to help you figure some of this out, read this post! Ok, you are still probably going to  let your work define you. You and about 50% of the US workforce. Just do yourself a favor. Take a little time to think about what motivates you. Then make sure you find ways to incorporate those motivators into your personal or professional life. Instead of expecting your employer to know what will make you a productive employee, discuss the types of projects or activities that you think will keep you engaged. And remember, it is your responsibility to ensure your skills are up-to-date, so be on the look-out for training or professional development opportunities that will keep your skills fresh and in-demand. Most importantly, maintain a balanced life. A version of this  post originally appeared on US News World Report On Careers

Understand your employees, create a happy workforce, and save money!

Understand your employees, create a happy workforce, and save money! Optimizing relationships is the new frontier in workforce management. Leaders who invest in improving team collaboration and employee satisfaction will benefit from increased productivity and lower turnover, all of which is reflected in the bottom line. I asked Karen Gordon, CEO of 5 Dynamics, a neuroscientific team management tool, what keeps employees happy, motivated, and less likely to leave? She describes it as a four-part process. 1. What makes a great leader? Or a not so great one? Not everyone leads the same way. Most managers fail to recognize is that leadership is not one-size-fits-all. Most leaders have perfected the art of optimizing processes, but have not invested enough time or resources in optimizing relationships. Great leaders understand that people are their company’s “Square One”, and make it a priority to understand what makes people build high-functioning, happy teams based on mutual knowledge and respect. 2. How can managers learn about their employees’ strengths? How can managers help employees discover those in themselves? “Throughout my career I’ve learned what inspires one person may not inspire another, says Gordon. “I think the best thing managers can do is spend time purposefully thinking about how their team operates and encourage team members to consider those questions for each other, as well.” How can you motivate others if you do not know what inspires them? What work do they truly enjoy doing? What is the best way to orient them to a new project or team? One way to find those answers is to leverage tools that assess a person’s natural tendencies when working on tasks or collaborating with others. 3. On that note, what is your advice on team communication? Does it vary between team members, or should there be one method for everyone? A blanket approach is never the best tactic for engaging your workforce. Communicating with team members strictly based on the way you personally like to communicate could result in stress, conflict, and unproductivity in the workplace. Managers and team members alike need to take the time to understand the communication preferences of their team members and connect with them in their preferred style. 4. How does all of this affect an employee’s level of satisfaction? Where does it tie into a company’s bottom line? It boils down to this: If a team member feels valued and is able to contribute from his/her unique strengths, they will be more successful, engaged, and satisfied. Managers need to make a genuine effort to seek out the gifts each person brings, value them for their unique strengths, and make their team aware of these discoveries. Once managers realize these keys to success and satisfaction, they will able to more effectively lead their workforce as a productive team, and avoid the costs associated with internal conflict, burnout, and turnover. Join Dana Manciagli’s Job Search Master Class now and get the most comprehensive job search system available!