Alexandra Levits Water Cooler Wisdom Getting a Sponsor For Your Project

Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom Getting a Sponsor For Your Project Depending on your organization, your project may have an official or unofficial sponsor. Most people seem to have a vague idea of what it means to be a sponsor, but in the event that you are one or need one, I thought it might be helpful to zero in on some specifics. The overall role of a project sponsor, first off, is to provide executive management ownership of and oversight over an initiative intended to accomplish a major business goal. An effective sponsor is placed high enough in the organization to smooth the way for timely decision making and appropriate resource allocation. She typically works behind the scenes, allowing the project manager to run things on a day to day basis. Her main responsibilities include: Minding the big picture Project sponsors understand why and how this project is critical to business operations and the relationship it has with other parts of the company. They make sure the initiative is always well-aligned with the organization’s major goals and direction. Getting buy-in The project sponsor persuades the higher-ups that the project is worth supporting â€" before, during, and after the project is completed. He sustains organizational commitment and keeps the project top of mind when more pressing issues threaten to bury it. For more project sponsorship tips, have a look at the full post at Intuits Fast Track blog.

What Makes the Ultimate Dream Job

What Makes the Ultimate Dream Job (Courtesty:  www.highground.com  ) What Makes the Ultimate Dream Job? [Infographic] Posted by: Andrea Weinfurt Tags: dream job, infographic, perks, professional development Believe it or not, foosball tables, beer Fridays and napping pods are not the way to the average professional’s heart. While these are cute (and welcome) perks, they aren’t really what people want in a  dream job. Curious to know what is? Good, let’s find out. The good news is, we’re a mostly hopeful bunch â€" 80 percent of Americans believe there’s an ideal job for every person, and that this job will lead to complete career happiness and satisfaction. But before we go any further, let’s clarify the definition of a “dream job.” While many people think of the literal work being done everyday, there’s another crucial element to the “dream job” equationâ€"the employer. People also want an ideal environment, with ideal people. Enter: the dream company. According to a survey by Horizons Workforce Consulting, dream companies have three qualities: they’re run by people who care about your well-being; they provide opportunities for you to grow in your career; and promote work-life balance. It’s not all about money and perks. People actually want to grow and achieve things (we’re guessing you’re not surprised and we’re guessing it’s because you’re one of them). Seventy-five percent of employees who call their places of work “dream companies” agree that their organizations provide them with opportunities for learning and growth, compared with 35 percent of people who feel that way as employees of less-than-ideal companies. As for the importance of investing in professional development, the workers have spoken: 83 percent say opportunities for career advancement are either “important” or “very important,” 76 percent say networking opportunities are either “important” or “very important,” and 82 percent say company-paid general training is either “important” or “very important.” It’s not like perks and benefits don’t play a role in happiness, they do. Fifty-seven percent of people say perks and benefits are top considerations when job hunting and 79 percent say they’d prefer them to a pay raise. An important point to remember about all this, especially if you’re an employee, is that you likely won’t stumble into a dream job and suddenly be supremely satisfied. Dream jobs are often jobs that people grow into over a period of time. And that process of growth pays offâ€"studies show that people who transition slowly into an ideal position end up much happier than those who snag the position right out of the gate. See more at: http://www.highground.com/makes-ultimate-dream-job#sthash.lynmlkaH.dpuf

More on Measuring Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

More on Measuring Your Personal Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career This is a follow-up post to my post last week: How to Measure Your Personal Brand. Here are some comments from you guys, and what I think about these three topics at the end. On the meaning of numbers to measure a brand I DO think that you can measure your personal brand from stats such as these however, I also think that it varies by the industry you are in and who you are engaging. Maybe you are in a less tech-related industry and the people you target are not inclined to comment or view your blog maybe you speak at events and everybody there may know you but they’ve never once commented on your blog or even know how to use twitter! Brian Does more more tweets really mean that you have a better brand? Honestly I do not think so. I think that when people are sitting down having coffee, talking about whatever is important to them if your name comes up, your brand is going well. Jason If you’re measuring your personal branding success by Retweets, page views, comments, stats, # of followers, etc. you’re completely missing the point. I thought we got over that era of self-absorption in the 80s. The criteria are generally simple: 1) personal satisfaction (am I happy with who I am as a person); 2) lifestyle (am I living the way I want); 3) employment (am I doing the work that makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning); and 4) giving back (am I helping others with my success). Personal branding is a means to an end, not the end itself. Mark For my new blog, and my personal brand on Twitter, I measure based on tweets and retweets regarding my work. I think tweets and retweets are more valuable than followers because anyone can follow you. Tweets and retweets show that you are making an impact with them. With regards to my blog, the best way to measure is based on the comments and people taking time to add value to your post. Josh On quantity vs. quality Yes, it certainly helps having a large following, but we’re ultimately wanting to monetize our brand. If we can’t convert the hits into some tangible gain for ourselves we could be well-connected all the way to starvation. Quantity helps, but quality matters. Thom I guess one’s effectiveness is not determined by numbers of followers but the impacts one has made on its community. Yinko We are much happier when we gauge our success on our own goals and not simply by comparing our “stats” to others. Quantitative comparisons whether it is in dollars or followers, often makes us needlessly question ourselves. Success is defined in so many different ways, it is very personal. Vicki On comparing ourselves to others As much as we are told not to compare ourselves to others, it’s inevitable that we do, and do often. I am guilty, just like everyone else reading this most likely, of measuring success on my blog based on number of page views, number of comments, number of retweets for a blog post, etc. It’s a good measuring stick but I am careful not to measure everything in numbers. Matt Yes, you want to know what your competition is up to. But what I see more of is that people have a tendency to overlook their own gifts, in favor of external validation. Don’t overlook that voice within that might be giving you insight into something new that no one else is doing yet. Leah Comparison to others is going to happen… I find that comparison in a healthy way drives business innovation knowing that there are people doing other things, possibly better than you, makes certain types of people work harder. I love the challenge so that drives me as well. Jason ******************************************************************** I agree with many of these points, and think this is an excellent conversation. I generally think that you can judge your personal brand qualitatively. But I still think that the concept of measuring requires that you be able to quantify your results. This is not to say theres not an unmeasurable value to personal branding. I think both quantity and quality are important, and that theres no need to choose. On Twitter, I follow a lot of people but they are all concentrated in the Gen Y, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, or Careers areas. Luckily, there are plenty of people interested in these topics. Comparison to others is honestly what drives me to get going in the morning. I use others as benchmarks often, but not in a jealous way. I get inspiration from watching others succeed and seeing how I can use some of their techniques and apply them to my own projects. No single path can help two people succeed the exact same way; but we should always be learning from each others successes. Thanks to everyone for a great conversation about this topic. I learned something new from each of you! Author: Monica O’Brien writes career advice for young professionals at her blog, Twenty Set. You can also follow her on Twitter (@monicaobrien).

4 Productivity Secrets of Successful Women - Classy Career Girl

4 Productivity Secrets of Successful Women There are limited hours in the day, and it can be incredibly hard to find ways to make the most out of that time. Having kids has made it even more challenging to find ways to get all the really important stuff done, both for my business and for my personal growth. It is really important to me to have time to meditate, to make it to the gym. I am a better mother and a better business owner when I have the time for these kinds of things. It has taken me a really long time to figure out how to make the most of my time, and I wanted to share some of the techniques I use every day to be more productive. Now, I am not perfect. Some days I get more done, some days a bit less. But these productivity secrets keep me on track, and I hope they will help you, too! The #1 Time Hack for Productive Women   Batching is by far the most effective productivity hack I use. Batching is when you group similar tasks together to improve your productivity. For example, sit down on a Sunday and create all your Instagram posts for the month. Or, spend a few hours recording all podcast episodes for the month. Here are three tips for batching success: Focus your time on revenue-generating activities. Administrative items should not distract you from revenue-generating activities. Limit time spent on administrative tasks since that won’t grow your business. Remember, you cannot grow a business only doing administrative tasks. Block out time and batch family time as well. This is your sacred time. Related Post: 3 Tips for Creating (Good!) Content Fast Get More Done By Prioritizing Your Calendar The Pareto Principle states that 20% of your input creates 80% of your results. This means 20% of what you do in your business is going to lead to 80% of your results. Focus as much time in your calendar on that 20%. For example,   if most of your new clients come in through email, then that is where you need to focus. This doesnt mean you cant launch that podcast youve been thinking about, but it does mean you should focus most of your energy on what works. Create (and stick to!) Your Morning Routine Your business won’t grow if you keep waiting until 8 pm at night to work on your dreams. Right when you wake up, focus on your own goals and dreams before your employers. Focus on your goals before your employer’s dreams and goals. Design your morning routine. Be happy and excited when you wake up. Journal Meditate Pray Read Write Create content for your business Revenue Generating Tasks Getting started on your own dreams first thing in the morning will make you excited and inspired as you take on the rest of the day. Design a Weekly Review Session My weekly review sessions are normally held on Friday. This session will help you identify exactly what needs to be done when you wake up on Monday. Get in a weekly review habit. Here is what I do, your schedule might look a bit different: Make a long list of all the tasks that still need to get done for the week. Knock out as many administrative items that you can. Make another list of tasks that can wait until next week. Prioritize the top 3 tasks for next week. Did These Productivity Secrets Help You?   It is so easy to get caught up in the daily grind, especially if you are still working a full-time job. I hope these tips will help inspire you to be more productive and get more doneeven if you have just a few moments in the morning to work on your dreams. If these productivity secrets helped you, let me know! I love hearing what you all are working on and celebrating with you. Share your successes on Instagram and tag @classycareergirl

Overview Of The Indeed Resume Search

Overview Of The Indeed Resume SearchThe Indeed Resume Search tool is one of the most popular tools used to create resumes for online job applications. What it does is combine several common resume formats into one neat package, which allows for easier and faster editing of the resume for the various sections. This is great for those who want a great looking resume, but don't have the time or the knowledge to draft one up on their own.Indeed Resume Search is offered free, but requires that you spend a small fee to gain access to some of the tools included in the program. This is fairly common these days as it is essentially free for most employers to use, except for the subscription service that can be quite expensive. Still, if you are serious about using this product to write your resume, I would recommend it because it has become quite useful to many people and will continue to prove itself a worthwhile investment.Remember that if you pay for the program you can get a ton of featur es for no extra cost. It is still a good deal and worth looking into. Especially if you plan on editing the resume in order to improve it a bit.When using the Indeed Resume Search you have the option of accessing it from the web, from the email search option and even by phone. All three are very useful because you can use them when you are out and about and can't easily set it up where you can easily edit it when you get home. These are all different ways of how the program can help you. Some of them may seem rather over the top, but they are all good reasons to use it.One of the best features is the ability to include work experience in the resume itself. It is incredibly easy to do so and can really change the overall appearance of the resume in terms of its overall look. Also, since it is already formatted, you can then add any information you want there to make it a little bit more exciting and appealing. Most importantly, you can add it on your own time and not have to worry ab out a deadline.Another great feature is that the resume will always be up to date. If you don't have anything on the current job search, it will automatically sort the resume and eliminate the old stuff. This makes it incredibly easy to update the resume when you change jobs, moving across the country or even out of the country.As you can see, the program is very easy to use, is simple to navigate and does not require you to conform to any agenda in order to use it to its own best interest. It is also able to provide you with resume tips on how to write a better one. It is really worth checking out.Well, worth it for anyone looking to get some good information on the subject, or even just to learn more about creating a resume. It's a very useful tool and is available at absolutely no cost at all.

Orange Cupcakes and Job Search

Orange Cupcakes and Job Search A friend recently told me a beautiful story about him and his mom. He fondly remembered meeting her after school daily when he was about seven years old at a store where she worked and sharing Hostess orange cupcakes with her while she worked so she could be with him before her shift was over.The story stayed with me because I doubt my friend realizes his incredible story telling power. He just tells it like it is but his imagery is so strong and unforgettable that you cant help but form a mental picture of the experience. Even though he never states this, the cupcakes are a metaphor for a connection, a bond, a relationship between him and his mom.one that obviously was very very strong. I have similar imagery that connects me to my fatherfootball and salted peanuts, just to name a few.People who make strong connections between tangible outcomes and feelings tend to make good interviewers. Thats because they can successfully leverage the connection between concrete evidence and the p assion behind their accomplishments. How can you make better use of imagery when communicating strong stories of professional success? Consider these typical interview questions.Tell me about yourself.What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?Describe a situation where you were under a very aggressive deadline.What would your boss say about you?What are your top strengths?All of these common interview questions provide an opportunity to tell a powerful story about your work history. And powerful stories during interviews are the gateway to a connection with the interviewer. Dont be afraid to talk about the hurdles you faced in past positions and how you overcame them. Consider explaining your feelings of pride over particular career accomplishments. Your passion for what you do will come through and can help the hiring manager conclude that you are a perfect match for their open position. The passion behind your stories of success is like the icing on the (orange) cupcake.The dog in this picture, Jammy,   belonged to my friends mom before she passed away. Jammy remains a living connection to his mom and a daily reminder of her impact on his life. Today is Jammys birthday and he sent me this picture of her eating an orange cupcake to celebrate. The picture speaks volumes about my friend and his life stories. What stories can you tell during your interviews to speak volumes about yourself?

Book review Harpo speaks - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Harpo speaks - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Ive played piano in a whorehouse. Ive smuggled secret papers out of Russia Ive gambled with Nick the Greek, sat on the floor with Greta Garbo, sparred with Benny Leonard, horsed around with the Prince of Wales, played ping-pong with George Gershwin. George Bernard Shaw has asked me for advice. Ive basked on the riviera with Somerset Maugham Ive been thrown out of the casino at Monte Carlo. (From the back flap of Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx). Harpo Marx, the silent Marx brother in the tattered raincoat and even more tattered red wig, tells his life story, and what a story it is! This book is full of bizarre, funny, sad, thoughtprovoking, touching anecdotes. In short, this book is full of life. Harpos humble beginnings were in New York, where he was thrown out of Public School 86 at the age of 8 (literally through a first floor window), never to return. Harop and his brothers went on to even humbler efforts to break into show business in vaudeville, performing in a new town every night, every performance a struggle to earn enough money to make it to the next town and maybe even a little extra for food and a room to sleep in. Then on to Broadway success, Hollywood success and semi retirement. Harpo managed to embrace everything that happened to him, whether good or bad, and make the best of it, and the book bubbles with his good cheer, and his straightforward approach to life. Its summed up in the first few pages of the book, where Harpo writes: I cant remember ever having a bad meal. Ive eaten [] in the finest restaurants in Paris, but the absolutely most delicious food I ever ate was prepared by the most inspired chef I ever knew my father. My father had to be inspired, because he had so little to work with. I cant remember ever having a poor nights sleep. Ive slept in the mansions of the Vanderbilts and Otto H. Kahn and in the Gloverville jail. Ive slept on pool tables, dressing-room tables, piano tops, bathhouse benches, in rag baskets and harp cases. I have known the supreme luxury of snoozing in the july sun, on the lawn, while the string of a flying kite tickled the bottom of my feet. I cant remember ever seeing a bad show. If Im trapped in a theatre, and a show starts disappointingly, I have a handy way to avoid seeing it. I fall asleep. These are words from a person who knows how to enjoy life, and who knows to look back on his life and see only the good. Read this book, and see why the world can still learn from its fools. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related