This one small gesture can buy you a lifetime of networking power….

By Gina Calvano | 2 Comments

I am writing this post to share with you the brilliance I witnessed from a young 20-something year old.  This is the story of a young woman who made the decision to move from a temp job to her first full-time gig out of college.  A no-brainer right?!  Of course she should leave the freelance job with no benefits for something full-time with benefits – what boss wouldn’t understand that?

 

Only she didn’t just make a leap to a more stable job – she stabilized her candidacy for future jobs with this one small gesture.

 

This one small gesture can buy you a lifetime of networking power – and the work is all done for you too!  Consider it an early holiday present from me (and the girl who actually did the work for us)!

 

In short – she wrote a note – literally WROTE a note – on an actual card from a fancy card/stationary store.  It was probably the best $5+ bucks she spent all year – and I bet she knows it!! Here is what she wrote (Note:  I changed the names to protect the brilliant but I didn’t change any of her words – they are sheer brilliance)...

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Going on a job interview? DO NOT talk about your past successes! Instead, talk about this…

By Gina Calvano | 2 Comments

Did you know that one of the fastest ways you can kill an interviewer’s interest in your candidacy is to talk on and on about all the amazing things you did or all the great, profitable ideas you had?  That seems so counter intuitive – doesn’t it?  Isn’t getting your amazingness across to a hiring executive the whole point of the interview after all?  Well, yes – actually it is, BUT talking about all the amazing things you did is not what really makes you amazing to anyone who has a stake in filling a job opening.

What does?  It’s the same thing that would make someone else amazing to you if you were doing the hiring.

Talk about what everyone wants to really know…

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The easiest mistake you can avoid making in your career

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

Never underestimate the power of a good handshake!

Seems obvious, right?  Does anyone out there disagree with me on this one?  Probably not – so do I seriously have to blog about Handshaking 101?  Ahhh ya, I do because there are still far too many people out there who still hold onto their bad handshake and it is killing their advantage over their competition.

Bad Handshakers of the world (you know who you are), you must stop this insanity (you know, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result – as in – “I’ll give the ‘limp fish‘ shake again – but this time – this time by golly people will get that I have energy, and that I am confident and powerful!”).  Do you hear it now?  This is the kindest (full on – benefit of the doubt), talk bubble that good handshakers see over your head when they try to shake your limp fish hand. We get it – maybe you are having a bad day or you are a little low on energy or self-esteem right now, but unless there is a cast of some sort on your arm or hand – there is no excuse – for a bad handshake.  Why?  Because it is the least amount of effort, easiest and fastest way to convey a sense of energy, confidence and “glad to see/meet you”!  And if you don’t have energy or confidence at the moment for whatever reason, it is the least amount of effort, easiest and fastest way to fake a sense of energy, confidence and “glad to see/meet you”!

Are you smacking yourself in the head yet?

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Want conviction? Profoundly help others

By Gina Calvano | Leave a Comment

Welcome to our 4th and final week  continuing on our topic of  “4 key distinctions that matter for finding career happiness.”

Let’s recap.  There are 4 things I want you to master in order to fully manifest the 3 C’s of career happiness (clarity, confidence and conviction).  Our first distinction was get comfortable making choices, our second was get courageous and our third was get committed to on-going education.  Remember, you are never really “out of school” – formal education and training should never stop.  Hopefully you selected a career and industry that are good matches for your abilities and interests so regular doses of  the latest information and the opportunity to connect with your peers should be nourishing to your soul – if they aren’t – HELLO – you may be in the wrong job/field (call us immediately before reading any further so you can get the help you need to find a career that excites you).

Last week we talked about needing to demonstrate your affiliation to OTHERS in your profession.  I shared that affiliation matters and one of the best way to show that you have the opportunity to be socially connected to your professional network is through pursuing continuing education (plus it helps you stay on top of the latest knowledge and developments in your field).

Going after continuing education and training is where you FIND your career and industry affiliations – the top talent in your field – the “who’s who” that YOU WANT TO BE CONNECTED to.  But how do you turn the illusion of being connected to these folks (it’s really just an illusion because your just hanging out in the same places they hang out), into a reality?

Welcome to the 4th distinction – PROFOUNDLY HELP OTHERS.

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