The Best Cure for the Holiday Hangover. Or, How to Get Back to Work After the Holidays

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girl at computer-1064659_1920The New Year is starting out exactly the same as last year: with a holiday hangover.

You know what I’m talking about. It’s like someone took a giant pin and burst the bubble of fun you’ve been having for the last month. Suddenly there’s a cloud of responsibility looming; nudging us as if to say, “No more fun for you; it’s back to work!”

For just a short time we’ve been able to ignore any career-related issues. Hate your job?  Even the craziest offices settle down as the company holiday party relaxes toxic co-workers. Then your PTO kicks in and suddenly things don’t seem as bad this time of year.

Looking for a job? You tell yourself hiring slows while managers take vacation, you decide to spend this “down” time updating your resume and developing a strategic job search plan that begins on January 1st.

Yes, all will be better after the holidays.

Guess what? The New Year is here. January 1st has come and gone.

Where is the strategic plan you had in mind? How about the updated resume? New business cards?

Did you do anything aside from reveling in time off?

Yep, it’s the holiday hangover. Too much fun; not enough work.

Ironically, despite supposedly being refreshed from taking time away from work and responsibility, it’s hard to get back to our jobs or the work of a job search after the holidays.

The holiday hangover has a firm grip on us.

The best way to get back to work or to your job search after the holidays? Hit it hard, and right away. The more you dive in, the easier it is.

  • Review. What were you working on before the holidays? What do you need to pick up and what can be dropped?
  • Prioritize. Scan email for important “must do now” items. Do not get sucked into trivial tasks that can wait until later.
  • Plan. Make a list of what you want to accomplish, with specific deadlines.
  • Work. Go for it; don’t think about it. I’ve found that once I start working, it’s amazingly easy to get back into the groove. It’s the thinking about it that’s torture.

If all else fails, make plans to meet friends after work or on the weekend to have fun. We all need balance in our lives.

Remember: Review, Prioritize, Plan, Work. It’s the best cure for the Holiday Hangover.

3 Tips For Successfully Answering Interview Questions

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practice-615644_1920What is it about interviewing for a job that can make otherwise intelligent people get tongue-tied? After all, we are at a job interview to discuss how we might help the company achieve its goals and who knows our career story, with all of our successes, better than we do?

Preparation is the key to a successful interview. Here are 3 tips to help you successfully answer interview questions.

1.Write Your Answers Ahead of Time

You have a good idea of the questions the hiring manager will ask, right? “Why do you want to work here?” “Give me an example of a successful project you managed” “What is your biggest strength/weakness?” and the all-important, “Tell me about yourself”.

Rather than “wing it” during the interview, think about what you want to say and type out your answers ahead of time.

Go back and review your answers, making sure they are succinct and convey the best part of you and your career. Place yourself in the hiring manager’s position: Are your answers what you would want to hear from a candidate?

2. Answer the Hiring Manager’s Question: WIFM?

The hiring manager is looking for someone to solve her problems. She’s silently asking the question, “What’s In It For Me?”

To answer this question, you need to “show”, not “tell”.

It also means using examples to show why she should hire you, NOT using fluffy words or generic information that isn’t specific to the position for which you are applying.

For example: “Tell me about yourself”. Your answer: “I’m passionate about analytics and am a dedicated, hard worker.  I really enjoy working in finance and would love to work here at XYZ Company.”

That’s awesome that you want to work for the company but the hiring manager doesn’t care about your needs/desires. I’m sure you are dedicated and hard-working, but how do you prove that in an interview? Besides, isn’t every candidate going to say that?

A better answer is, “I’m a financial analyst with more than ten years experience helping companies such as yours strategize and plan for the future. My career includes both corporate experience as well as consulting, for both domestic and global organizations. Recently my team completed a project that allowed our company to increase revenue by 8%. I believe my experience has prepared me to take the next step, and I’m ready to make a positive contribution to your organization.”

State who you are and show you can do for the hiring manager and the company.

3. Practice!

Just like being in a play, practice saying your answers out loud until they roll off your tongue naturally. Do not wait until the interview before you speak these words!

Trust me when I tell you that practice makes you sound perfectly unrehearsed.

Remember: Write. Show. Practice. These three tips will take you from tongue-tied to eloquent.

3 Benefits of Taking Vacation

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Sometimes it’s hard to get away from it all. Especially with smart phones almost surgically attached to our hands, none of us can really escape from work or other responsibilities.

Thank You, Steve Jobs. Love the technology; just dislike feeling like I’m always connected even when I’m in the bathroom.

Still, it is very important for our mental health to cut the cord, leave the nest and find some place to refresh. Even if it’s just for a few days.

I am a HUGE believer in taking a vacation, although I wasn’t always this way.

Early in my career I had the opportunity to visit Australia for two weeks. This was before smart phones and the internet, so if I left town there was no way for me to easily connect with work. And that was the dilemma. How could I possibly leave for two weeks? What if something went wrong? How would the office live without me?

Sensing my frantic state, my boss very wisely told me, “There is nothing that can happen while you’re gone that we can’t fix when you get back”.

Personally, I thought she just wanted to get rid of me but I took her advice and went on vacation.

And had a blast! Two weeks later I returned, full of tales of the Outback and Koalas and the Barrier Reef and other adventures. I was energized and refreshed, ready to continue with the intense challenges of my job.

Guess what? The business was still humming along, perfectly fine. Although my assistant was glad to see me.

What I learned is that vacations are not a luxury; they are vital to my productivity. Before this trip, I thought that by skipping vacation I was helping the business. In reality, I was hurting it and most importantly, myself. I was less productive, less creative and my management style was less than enthusiastic.

3 Benefits of Taking Vacation

  • Rest and Rejuvenate. Sounds obvious, right? Yet we don’t realize how tired or crazy stressed-out we are until we actually go on vacation. Once away from day-to-day activities, we slowly start to unwind until full relaxation is achieved. Sometimes this takes a day; sometimes two or three. For me, it’s usually a full week to catch up on sleep, get some exercise and have fun. We return home looking and feeling better than when we left; with more energy to tackle any obstacles that work or life may hand us.
  • Boost Creativity. A change of scenery is good for so many things; one of them is that it can really get those creative juices flowing. Simply by visiting another location, doing something different or visiting with new people, we tend to see things with a new set of eyes, which is good for problem solving or other creative tasks. Even if you’re not employed, a change of scenery is always a good mood-booster.
  • Seeing the Big Picture. Going on vacation and getting away from whatever was causing us to stress out allows the opportunity to think clearly and gain perspective. Sometimes we get so bogged down in the tactics that we can feel trapped in a one-way situation. Or we become a Negative Nellie, without a positive comment about work or family or whatever. It just seems like everything is too much. Vacation allows us time to step away from it all and to realize it’s not as difficult or as bad as it seems. We simply needed a break.

Remember: Take your vacation; your well-being depends on it. Relax, refresh, step back and look at the big picture. The office will survive without you.

What Kind of Boss Are You Going to Be?

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Today’s post, “Everything I Know About Business, Started With My Dad”,  is from a friend and former colleague, Kathy Meyer.  This first ran in “Nokia People”, Nokia’s Internal Employee Magazine in August of 2001, Volume 52, Page 34.  It  was her first published article.

Things you should know about Kathy:

  • She has an incredibly dry wit and great sense of humor.
  • She is extremely intelligent.
  • She is one of the hardest workers I know and expects the best not only of herself but of those in her charge.
  • She is a teacher as well as a leader; a rare combination in the business world these days.

I hope you enjoy the lesson she is sharing. It’s given me something to think about.

Tami

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“Everything I Know About Business, Started With My Dad”

When I was recently promoted, my Dad asked me, “What kind of boss are you going to be?”

He went on to say that you have two choices: you can be “exploitive” or “developmental”.

Exploitive bosses take credit for your work, find ways to get themselves promoted, and are just looking out for themselves. Then there are the rare “developmental” bosses that come along once in a lifetime if you are lucky.

My father spent a career in various companies striving to be a “developmental” boss. He chose to help his employees achieve professional goals. He cared about his employees.

I have worked for more jerks than I have fingers. “Exploitive” is a nice word for them.

I didn’t know the difference until I had a “developmental” boss, Forrest, at Verizon. I spent three years working for this boss and tried to learn everything he had to teach me. He encouraged me, taught me about business, finance, politics, how to negotiate, and made me more valuable to myself and to the company.

Outside of work, he helped me build a new house, get married, and was gracious while I grieved through the loss of my Grandma Horton. He encouraged me to pursue my MBA to get to the next position. This self confidence power boost I brought home and shared with my husband, David. We both have our MBA’s today and we owe it to Forrest for giving us the courage to begin.

I know the difference between “exploitive” boss and a “developmental” boss. I know what actions have made a difference in my world.

Today it’s not fashionable for managers to invest time and effort in their employees, and that’s a tragedy for all of us in the corporate world.

I have a much higher standard for future bosses since the bar was set so high early in my career.

I am looking for a “developmental” boss. Aren’t we all?

Lesson from Rachel Dolezal

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rachel dolezal

Sometimes career-related lessons can be learned from watching the news.

Today’s lesson is from Rachel Dolezal, and it’s a big one: Don’t Lie.  The truth has a way of coming to the surface and when it does, you’ll wish you had been truthful from the beginning.

Ms. Dolezal recently resigned her position with the Spokane chapter of the NAACP. For some reason, she felt the need to portray herself as African-American, going to great lengths to do so.

Yet she’s a white woman who lied on at least one job application, as well as to the hiring manager, her boss, friends, and colleagues.  One report stated that she even had her kids lie about her true identity.

She’s been living this lie for years.  And I’m not sure any of us really comprehend why.

It’s my understanding that before this lie was uncovered, she was known for being passionate about racial and social justice.  Under her leadership the NAACP chapter had grown and was accomplishing great things.   It’s a shame that her lie may cause people to forget about her passion and good work, instead remembering her deception and perhaps wondering if she lied about anything else.

And it may harm the reputation of the Spokane chapter, doing more harm than she could have imagined. An organization’s reputation is represented by those who work there. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

While I don’t know Ms. Dolezal, I’m sure she didn’t need to lie to get a job with the NAACP.  It’s a great organization, full of wonderful people who do great work; I’m pretty sure they would have welcomed Ms. Dolezal no matter what her race.  In fact, some of the founding members of the NAACP happened to have been white.

Just in case you need them, here are 4 reasons why you should tell the truth during your job search:

  • Your reputation – your personal brand – is at stake.  One slip sooner or later, everyone finds out you’ve been lying, and you’re toast. All your hard work is forgotten. The only thing people remember is that you lied and can no longer be trusted.
  • The corporate brand is at stake; the company that hired you.  This is especially true if you are in management or in a public-facing position.  When the truth is uncovered, the company now suffers.
  • Your co-workers may be in an awkward position to cover for you, particularly if they know or suspect that you are not being 100% truthful.  Would you want to be treated in the same manner?
  • Lying is hard work.  It’s hard to keep up with all the stories, and once you’ve started the lie it snowballs, growing larger until it gets out of control.

Lies. They catch up with you.  Actually it’s the truth that catches up with you, in all its glory.  It’s just much easier to tell the truth from the beginning.

Advance Your Career By Working For Free

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Work for free.  That’s almost an oxymoron, isn’t it?

After all, isn’t the whole point of going to work, toiling away for forty-plus hours a week, to earn money?

Luckily for me, aside from a slight misstep with my first career, work has never been “toil”.  I’ve enjoyed my chosen field and am grateful to never feel like I’m working.

That said, I still enjoy getting paid.

There are times, however, when you can boost your career by working for free.

Sounds like crazy-talk, I know. Many will simply quit reading right now.  Go ahead; that leaves more opportunity for the rest of us.

Take myself, for example.  As a writer I like to get paid for my work. Duh.  Yet websites and other publications like to get free content.  The battle wages between getting paid vs. getting noticed.

When writers are first starting out, it’s more important to get noticed.  The goal is to build a following; to become the “go-to” person that people seek out on a specific topic.

Then the tables start to turn.  The websites and publications need you.  In addition, if you have strategically aligned yourself with publications that attract a large following, your byline can tie back to your own website where you can market yourself, maybe develop an email list of visitors.

Now you have people to market to; potential paying customers. It’s business in the making. See how that works?

Retailers have known for eons that the best way to attract paying customers is to get people to sample their products first.  Get them hooked.

Same thing for those selling something less-tangible, such as a service.  Give your target audience a sample; a taste of your work so they can try it before they buy it. Once they know your capabilities and feel comfortable with you, they will be more willing to spend money for a long term agreement.

Consider the fact that most jobs are obtained through networking. Why? Because the people in your network know you; they know you’re work and are confident in recommending or hiring you.

Some Ideas

  • If you are a consultant or small business person, consider trading work with someone to help build word-of-mouth marketing.  If you’re a marketer, offer to develop a Marcomm plan for an IT consultant in exchange for his help with your computer issues.

 

  • Perhaps an internship is the way to show you are willing to do what it takes to start a new career.  Many internships pay a nominal salary too.  And no, you’re not too old to do an internship.

 

  • Volunteering is another great way to gain experience and spread the word about your fabulous work skills.  Non profits do have paying jobs; they may just be hard to find.  Get your foot in the door by volunteering your business skills for a project.  Get to know the executives and board members. When the project is over, ask them for a recommendation that you can use on LinkedIn, and let them know that you would be interested in working for them when a job opening comes along.

Work for free, or work for less.  Either of these is super important for anyone who is starting out, wants to gain exposure or wishes to change careers into something totally different.

Give it some thought. You may just advance your career by working for free.

The Power of Positive Thinking

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Judges and winners

Positive thinking is critical to success.

Not in the “Build it and they will come” – Field of Dreams sort of way, but you have to believe in yourself and your idea in order to have any chance at all.

Last week I saw the power of positive thinking in action as a judge at SMU’s first Big Idea Day competition.  Six months earlier students had pitched their Big Ideas, with winners receiving seed money to begin working on their businesses. Now I was invited to participate as the same students presented their business plans as well as work to-date, for the opportunity to receive additional funding to continue.

Sort of like “Shark Tank”, without the high-rolling judges writing personal checks to finance the projects. Thank goodness they were not looking to me for funding.

The ideas were great, but what impressed me the most was the students’ positive attitudes.

They simply were undeterred by things that would stop most career veterans at the get-go.

As judges it was our job to determine which Big Ideas truly had a chance for success as well as evaluate the business plans and other predetermined criteria.  It was hard to focus on the idea and not let years of work experience jade us in our decisions.

Negative thoughts instantly popped into our heads.  Permits, legal issues, security, technology, shipping, advertising, staffing; the list went on and on.  The who, what, where, when and how questions seemed insurmountable to us, in many cases.

Not to the students.  They were ready to roll up their sleeves and make the idea come to life.  They were passionate about their plans and ideas; everything seemed possible with hard work and determination.

Part of that, of course, is the wonderful naiveté from simply being college students who lack real-world experience. Yet I admired their grit and determination.  We were all that way at one time, immune to common convention and the “rules” that have become second nature.

As career veterans sometimes we zone in on what can’t be done.  Budgets and bureaucracy and legal ramifications and just  being told “no” so many times over the years has worn us down. Along with experience – or dare I say egos – that whisper, “I’ve tried that before; it won’t work”.  Doesn’t matter that it was years ago and under different circumstances; we think we know best.

We err on the side of caution, working towards what we know we can accomplish and succeed at instead of the riskier, harder ideas that take more time and effort with the possibility of failure.

It’s so easy, isn’t it? To get caught up in what can’t be done instead of the endless possibilities of what might be accomplished?

Face it: innovation – trying something new – takes lots of work. And it’s easy to fail.

Yet the rewards for success are great.

Same thing for our job search.  We get caught up in the “I can’t do this”, or “That will never work”, and other negative thoughts.  Why not just say “Yes, I can try”?

At the very least, develop a plan that allows you to thoroughly think things through. Allow yourself to dream about the possibilities; the “What ifs?”

Developing a Big Idea to start a new business or searching for a new job or the riskier idea of changing careers are all challenging.   The question is, do you put in the hard work to go after your dreams or do you sit back in the safety and comfort of what you know?

Go for the positive attitude and the Big Idea.  You will be amazed at what you can accomplish.

 

Rookie Networking Mistakes

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One thing that career veterans have in common with college students or recent graduates is that we were, at one time, networking rookies.

Like rookies at pro football training camp, students must learn how to network at corporate events with executives, which is somewhat different than networking or meeting people at college mixers.

As in any sport, rookies tend to make mistakes, and that’s okay. The important thing is to learn from them.

The key to networking is preparation and practice. Makes a world of difference.  Remembering to breathe helps too.

Avoid these Rookie Networking Mistakes:

 

M.C. STAMMERER

“I, um – ah –ya, know, like, I was wondering about, like your work, like, what do you do?” “Like?”

Suggestion: Leave, like, maybe, some of those, um, words out, ya know.

Take time to prepare before you attend a networking event.  Remember, this is similar to meeting anyone new: introduce yourself, have questions to ask and topics to discuss; have your thirty- second “elevator pitch” ready.  Act interested in what people have to say.

This is not about you finding an internship or job this minute. This is about building a relationship or connection that could lead to a job prospect down the road.

 

MR. FLY-BY-THE-SEAT-OF-MY-PANTS

Rookie: “I’m studying photography so I want an internship with a ‘good’ photographer.”

Executive: “What kind of photography would you like to do?”

Rookie: “I don’t care. I just want an internship. “

Of course you care! At least you should.

By literally saying, “I don’t care”, if you’re really lucky you may find yourself scrubbing toilets for the “good” photographer while he personally works with the student who said they have a passion to learn how to light a subject correctly.

An internship is a two to three month opportunity to get experience with no strings attached. This does not have to be the work that defines you for the next thirty years.  Pick one or two areas of interest and speak up!

“I really enjoy photographing people and their animals. I would also like to learn more about the proper way to use lighting, both inside and outside”.  

I suspect that’s what the “good” photographer wants to hear.

This is your career, your life, you’re talking about. If you don’t care, no one else will.

 

PLAY DEFENSIVE TACKLE

This should go without saying but I’ve had this happen to me a few times.

Never criticize the employer of someone you just met. Never criticize a policy, an advertisement, the CEO, not one thing.

First, that person may be responsible for what you just criticized. And besides, you’ve now just put them on the defensive when you should be trying to win them over.

Smooth; real smooth.

 

MY CLOTHES WERE DIRTY SO I’M WEARING MY PJ’S

I’m not sure how many more times I can write about this; it’s driving me crazy because this should be obvious. At each event I attend there is at least one person that has yet to receive the memo.

Dress appropriately for a business networking event.

It’s simple, people! Iron your clothes. Brush your hair. Tuck in your shirt. Put on a belt. Wear shoes, not rubber flip flops.  Slacks, not shorts.

Jackets and ties are not required but concert t-shirts are a “no”. Clean, polished shoes. And ladies, if you can’t walk well in those high-heels, opt for something lower.

Please. I’m begging you.

 

WE ARE EXECUTIVES, NOT PSYCHICS

Business networking events are interesting. Career veterans are like politicians working the room, smiling, shaking hands, passing out business cards.

Rookies are shuffling their feet with their heads down or maybe standing quietly on the sidelines like wallflowers.

If I’m at an event with rookies, I generally introduce myself first and present my business card as sort of an ice-breaker. I get it; rookies are nervous.  I remember because I was a rookie at one time.

Yet we career veterans can only hold the conversation for so long, trying to guess the questions rookies want to ask us. It really helps if rookies are prepared for networking with a list of questions to ask; they can actually refer to the list if they need to.  It makes for a much more productive conversation for everyone.we don’t mind helping.

We just can’t read your mind.

 

IT’S NETWORKING; NOT INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Remember that networking is about building a relationship, something that usually takes time. We meet people at school, at work, through church and volunteer organizations or social activities, and over time we learn about each other.

A clear rookie networking mistake is when someone meets me for the first time, we’ve barely introduced ourselves, and the first question they ask is, “Do you know of any jobs for me?”

No, I don’t; we’ve just met and I know nothing about you.

Take time to know me and what it is that I do. Tell me about yourself and what you do or want to do. Let that sit for a while.  Let’s exchange business cards and stay connected on LinkedIn.

Then, when you see a job that interests you and realize that I have a connection at that company, ask me to make an introduction.

Now that’s networking.

Curate Your Resume

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Curate: a verb.

It’s an interesting word. By definition, it means “To pull together, sift through, and select for presentation, as music or website content”.

I often think of a museum curator, who must sort through hundreds if not thousands of paintings by the great masters like Da Vinci or Picasso, choosing only a handful for patrons to view. The purpose is to select the best of the best; to curate the collection down to tell a story in a limited space.

What a difficult job!

Right now I am trying to “curate” my personal belongings in an attempt to keep the best of my best.

Not because I need to tell a story with my clothes; simply because my goal is to keep everything in my closet in the bedroom.

I started out with the simple stuff: Hubby’s things. It’s easy to curate his personal belongings. After all, no one needs the 100 thing-a-ma-bobs I found spilling out of his tool chest.

Most difficult? Trying to curate a woman’s shoe collection. Ten pairs of black pumps may all appear identical at first glance yet upon closer examination it becomes clear that, much like snowflakes, no shoes are exactly alike and each serve a different purpose.

Hubby is shaking his head. This from the man with 100 thing-a-ma-bobs in the garage.

Curating my belongings is hard. I guess I’m just sentimental since each time I try to rid myself of an item, I remember when I purchased it or who gave it to me and I just can’t bear the thought of losing that memory.

Here’s another curating challenge that I bet many of us struggle with: the resume.

Our tendency is to over-tell our story. To share every detail of each job and sometimes to list every job we’ve ever had, which is too much itself.

Like too many clothes in the closet or too many thing-a-ma-bobs in the tool chest, too much information on the resume is not always the best form of presentation.

The key to being a good curator is to look at a collection with a critical eye; select only the best work and being strict enough to say “no” to the rest.

When it comes to our resumes we should do the same. This can be super-hard because it’s personal. This is our story of our hard work, and we want everyone to see it.

Plus, it’s difficult to determine what to keep and what to eliminate. The key is to remember that the resume is just one tool in the job search process, so use it to focus on the highlights; key points of interest that may entice the hiring manager to bring you in for an interview.

Some thought starters:

  • Review everything with a very critical eye, looking for the most important information you want to share
  • Hone your best success stories for inclusion on the resume
  • Say it with fewer words wherever possible
    • Even career veterans with a long work history should keep a resume to two pages; those starting out should have only one page
  • What are the three things you want the reader to know about you?
    • Start writing with this information; make sure each is clear and not cluttered with unnecessary information

Using these thought-starters, write your resume. Curate your information to provide a succinct presentation of your story.

Just like our closets and drawers become overstuffed and we need to curate our collections, our resumes can become overstuffed with words and information as we hang on to all of our work examples and stories.

Take time to curate your resume. You – and the hiring manager –will be pleased with the results.

Read This To Guarantee You Will Never Get The Job You Want

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For those who might be interested in finding a new job, whether you’ve got a job now or are unemployed, here’s a quick tip for you that’s sure to be a success.  I’m so sure of this strategy that it might be worth writing down so you will remember it.

By implementing this approach, I can guarantee you will not get what you want, whether it’s an interview, the job, a girl – whatever.

Here it is:

Don’t try.

That’s right; simply don’t try.  It’s super easy. Don’t apply for the job, don’t try during the interview and certainly don’t ask that special someone out.  Success – or failure, depending on how you look at it – is guaranteed.

One of my clients shared with me this statement, which I believe is attributed to hockey’s great Wayne Gretzky: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.  What Wayne was really saying is that we are guaranteed to never get what we want if we don’t try.

I can hear you all hand slapping your heads in amazement, awed at this revelation. (Note the sarcasm)  One would think Wayne’s statement is a no-brainer. Yet based on conversations I’ve had or witnessed during my work with those in the job market, it appears that there are lots of people who are good at not trying.

Personally, trying is something I think I’m good at. If there is something I really want, I will try for it.

Back in high school the number one thing I wanted was to be on the dance team that performed during half-time at football games.  Dancing was in my blood; I had been taking lessons since I was three years old.

When try-outs came there was fierce competition for a very limited number of openings. Despite my dance background, I didn’t make the team.  And I was crushed.

I allowed myself a couple days of pity as I considered my options.  Try again was the first thing that came to mind.

Meeting with the team coach, I learned which techniques I needed to improve on to qualify.  Every night for an entire year I practiced in front of the mirror in my bedroom, stretching, dancing and smiling.  I knew that I was either going to make the team or die trying.

My efforts paid off; at the next try-out I made the team.  But if I had never tried – if I had given up – I would have guaranteed myself a seat in the bleachers instead of on the field.

Same can be true for us at work.  If we are not in the right job or if we want to move on to something different we have to put forth the effort and try in order to find something new.  Just waiting for a new job opportunity to land in front of us rarely results in success.

We have to hush that little voice in our head that says, “I probably won’t get the job”; “I don’t think I’m qualified”; “I don’t have time to update my resume/search for a job/network with people I know”.

What the voice is really saying is, “Don’t try”.

I get it; trying is hard work.  It takes time and patience and it means accepting the fact that failure may happen.

Yet successful people try again and again and again, until they get what they want.

Remember, if you don’t try you will miss every opportunity.  Guaranteed.