Help doesn't always have to  come from our direct team! Prep: Get clear on the exact problem  What is causing the problem Where did you get stuck? What have you tried? Did any of those action items move the needle?  Network:  Are there other teams that can help you? If you asked your colleagues, can your boss help? If you asked your boss, can your colleagues help? Network: ex-colleagues?  Previous leaders LinkedIn Job specific meet ups Social media platforms  Ask experts in your field  Evaluate:  Is this a company you want to stay at? Is this a leader you want to work for and align to?  It's ok to move on if this is a long term issue vs temporary problem Continue to be a rockstar! Communicate progress / roadblocks / solutions  Stay consistent  Ask for flexibility  Have a plan Understand the goals you're working towards Take control Can't fix or change it all, accept that  Perform well  To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  @careertalkpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Today we are answering your questions! Question 1 - a listener is new to recruiting and wants to know:  How do I let people know they are not moving forward in the process? How do I disengage?  Question 2 - a listener is looking for information on maternity / work leave To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  @careertalkpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Here's the thing, and this is good to know out of the gate, there is no such thing as work life balance. Life is not balanced. Work is not balanced. It's more of a moving target Tips to achieve better balance  Prioritize  Delegate  Ask for help  Evaluate  Utilize and emphasize your strengths  Do your hardest tasks when you work best  What are your non negotiable items = stick to this  What tools, apps, technology, software, etc can help you? Movement / exercise  Coach? Therapist?  Do and schedule the things that bring you joy Take breaks  Use your time off  Structure your day / week / month / year  Could you get up earlier? Go to bed sooner? Batch tasks  Don'e just play on the weekends  Stay focused at the tasks at hand  Commit to a go home by time and make it vocal  Shut down completely when you're not at work  To do list - can you outsource anything? Get organized  Master lists before shopping so you can see what you need and don't forget anything  Know this: You don't have to do it all  You'll never be 'done' YOU GOT THIS Help is a good thing  Be kind to yourself  To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  @careertalkpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

We've all heard the saying it's not about what you know, it's about who you know. Is that true?  Does our career success rest solely on who we know? What if we don't know anyone? What do you do? How do you break into these amazing opportunities?  How do we thrive in our careers when we don't have inside connections? Let's explore!  Over time you are going to build your reputation with great work. You'll build relationships when you:  Perform Exceed expectations People can count on your to get the job done  Help others  Be someone people feel comfortable talking to  Confidentially Being a human  Start with your first job:  Perform Exceed goals Ask your manager what their goals are Help get them there  Volunteer for extra projects  Solve business problems  Help your team reach their goals  When you're ready to leave:  Leave on great terms:  Longer than normal notice  Offer to help train your replacement  Ask what you can do to make the transition as seamless as possible  Want to keep in touch Ask if needed, can you use your manager as a reference If your leader was super awesome leave them a recommendation on LinkedIn Side note: do this for your great colleagues as well  Starting your new job:  Find out what the vision is  Why were you hired? Problem? Growth? = Insights on how you can contribute  What are your personal goals? What expectations does your manager have of you? Schedule / request regular check ins or 1:1 with your manager  What are you doing well What do you need to work on General feedback  Day to day updates / questions / etc.  Rinse and repeat 🙂 Over time you will build your network and your connections  To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  @careertalkpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Let's focus on what we can control first:  Speak clearly Frame your input / solution properly  Speak at a normal voice level, not too loud but not quiet / meek either  Speak with confidence and conviction  Ask questions, listen, respond; make it a conversation  Get your time - schedule meetings, get on an agenda  Use the phone when it gets to be too much back and forth  Know and set your intentions ahead of time  Understand and know your value, worth and expertise  Jump into the conversation  Ask people who are interrupting you to wait until you're finished  Be mindful of your body language  If in person, sit in the center of the room  To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  @careertalkpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Question 1:  How to answer the interview question: Detail your greatest achievements in the last 5 years and how they relate to this position  List out your biggest struggles in the last 5 years  What did you have to do to overcome those struggles  What did you learn  Review your annual reviews  Ask colleagues about team project achievements  How does it relate? Unless you're switching career paths it should directly relate  Even if you are switching, you will have cross over  Question 2: Been in OEM for 35+ years but no degree, however strong leadership experience, most companies require a degree  Create a targeted list of companies you'd like to work for  Make another list of companies that are hiring for your type of roles  Focus on your leadership experience  Reach out to recruiters and possible hiring managers  If there are any certifications or programs completed for the job include those on your resume  To support the show:  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 Anchor:  https://anchor.fm/careertalk For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

In today's episode we listen to my interview on the Kick A** In Life Podcast interview with Laura Eshelman. We discuss:  Getting specific in your resume What to do to stand out in your first job How to get more responsibility at work How to have promotion conversations  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Laura Eshelman from the Kick A** in Life Podcast talks to us about how to stand out in the interview process!  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Happiness  What brings a smile to your face? What makes you feel joy? What makes you feel content?  What are the things that bring you excitement?  When you think about your job, or the work you do, how does it make you feel? What do you do to have fun? ------------------------------------------ Unpacking podcast:  https://anchor.fm/unpacking Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Today's questions:  How to negotiate salary When to move onto the next job Why it takes so long to hear back after interviews  How to negotiate salary Be honest Be realistic Know your worth Know what your expertise is getting paid for in the market Know the market What is the supply and demand  Be really upfront in that initial conversation regarding your expectations  If you get an offer you're not jazzed about:  Express gratitude Be genuine Be honest  Share your expectations  Ask if there is any wiggle room  Be open to different options  Know what will get you to a 'yes' and be transparent about it  When to move to the next job:  You're not happy  Compensation  You don't have any growth opportunities  Bored, need new challenges  Expand your skillset  Get experience in a new industry  Why it takes so long to hear back after interviews:  A recruiter never wants it to take long Could be slow hiring manager feedback  Manager could be indecisive  Could be a bad recruiter  Org changes  Could be waiting for you to follow up or provide feedback  Could be a really poor or shitty interview process  Could be a major hiring push, volume wise, everyone is overloaded  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

There are a lot of different job sites out there but a few that are being used frequently LinkedIn Aggregate Roughly 500 million users About 250 active monthly users  This is probably a recruiters biggest go to site  You can display your information  You can turn on job alerts  For the popular roles, a very busy site  Indeed  Aggregate  Rough estimate is about 250 million users  Will have similar job search results as LinkedIn  Usually better for a job seeker vs a recruiter  Not where most of the recruiters are playing  ZipRecruiter  About 7 million users from what I have researched  Affordable  Don't see a ton of really large companies using  Overall not very impressed to be honest  Glassdoor  Roughly 32 million users  Little big more expensive  Little bit less popular on the recruiter side  Has all the reviews right there  Social Media Profiles Facebook Twitter  Instagram  Update your personal accounts with your job, company, location, etc.  Becoming more and more popular for recruiters to use  Niche websites Do your research to find the popular ones  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

We have done an episode on compensation in the past but things have changed a little bit, for the better and wanted to give an update!  The first thing I want to touch on is educating yourself. Know what the market is like. Supply and demand for your job. Research your job's salary information.  Know before going into an interview, what you want to expect in a new role compensation wise.  You don't have to disclose your current compensation!  Be prepared to have a compensation conversation in your initial interview.  Legally you don't have to disclose what you're making. However, there could be times where it makes sense to share so we can be well aligned and also seeing if there is any way to push to go above the initial range.  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Links: Student Loan Hero website: https://studentloanhero.com/ Federal Reserve - Student Loans: https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2018-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2017-student-loans.htm Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Here are the questions we are answering today:  In your experience if the person you are recruiting for only has 60% of the job description but has overlapping skills that you can train, how much are willing to pay compared to market price?  How to negotiate a salary with global firms when they have established a base in your country because they have business opportunities there? How likely are recruiters willing to issue visas to people from abroad?  How do you weed out people who do not have the skills but blatantly lied during the interview process?  How do I move from working as an engineer to a law clerk or paralegal without getting a law degree? How do to go from being a regular employee to a manager? What skills do I need to learn? And how do I avoid having to work for the same company for years? What basic skills do company owners typically need to learn?  When your employer asks you to sign an unreasonable contract that is breaking the law but you want to work for them because they do interesting jobs, how do you reconcile with the decision?  How to quit your job? When and how?  Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Twitter:  @stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

How to have confidence in your career. Confidence in general can sometimes be difficult.   I have 18 tips for us on how to boost our convenience in your work and be more successful.   1 - Know your value Make a list. What do I bring to the table. What are my strengths.   2 - Making eye contact and smiling   3 - Voice your opinions   4 - Asking for help   5 - Asking for feedback   6 - Accepting compliments Do not deflect or negate compliments!   7 - Know your worth As it relates to compensation.   8 - Prepare Prepare for all of the things. For meetings. For your day. For your work.   9 - Set goals that are challenging but attainable so you can then just crush them   10 - document your wins Every day. Or every week. Write down the things you did well   11 - Understand your areas of opportunities AKA your weakness. Not to say you have to improve your weaknesses but knowing what they are is important   12 - Play to your passion   13 - Immediately stop negative self talk Replace it with a positive   14 - Show up physically in a way that makes you feel really good about yourself   15 - Learn a new skill or learn something that will help you further your career or even down the line in your career   16 - Smile   17 - Affirmations   18 - Clean your desk and your work area   Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 To connect:  Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

 Productivity is my jam!     When we are looking at how do we become more productive, a good starting point is listing out (separate lists), what are the lists we absolutely have to do every day, week, month and year.    For example, for monthly, what are the things you’ve done this month to add to your annual review.     As a recruiter I have 8 things on my to do list every single day.  For example, review all of the direct applies, look at LinkedIn messages, etc.     Every week I update a report and follow up with candidates in process if I haven’t talked to them yet that week.     Write the lists out of the things you absolutely have to do every day, every week, every month and every year.    Under those absolute must dos, underneath draw a line and add the things we should do.    Then add another line and add everything that would be great to do.    So there are 3 sections:   Absolute must be done  Should be done  Would be great if I got this done  Then create time blocks on your calendar to get those items done.  I f you absolutely need to schedule a meeting during your blocks, move it, still keep the time.    Also another thing that has been very helpful for me is to batch your tasks.         Paypal:   paypal.me/stephdennis13    For show notes go to:  http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/    To work together:   listentocareertalk.com     For the Google Survey:   https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1    To connect:     Instagram:   @stephdennis13     @careertalkpodcast Facebook:  www.facebook.com/stephdennis13    Twitter:  @stephdennis13       You’re awesome!!     Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever been curious what could be holding you back from achieving your dreams and/or goals?   Today we are talking about limiting beliefs with Ryan Borawski.    Ryan’s Instagram:  @ryanborawski    Ryan’s Twitter:  @RyanJBorawski    Ryan’s website:  ryanborawski.com    Ryan is a corporate trainer for his full time position and he also has a side life coaching business.    Beliefs are pretty much who we are and they have the ability to create or destroy us.    Empowering beliefs are beliefs that gets you to where you want to go.   Beliefs also align with values.    What’s the difference between limiting beliefs and fear?  There are two types of fears. Legitimate fears, for example I do not want to touch a hot stove.  There is really good fear. There is a lot of bad fear.    When you look at how you tell the difference between limiting beliefs and fear is it whether or not you have taken action or is deeper than that?    A lot of times limiting beliefs are preventing us from taking action.    Surround yourself with people who will help you raise your standards.    How do you go about identifying a limiting belief?    A lot of times you can’t identify them on your own because you need someone to cover your blindspots.    Exercise:  Write down the beliefs you have.  Circle the ones that are empowering. Identify how they are getting you to where you want to go.  Then look at the disempowering beliefs and question them. Where did I develop these from? Who did I develop this from? How is this limiting me from getting to where I want to go? Was the person I learned this from worth modeling?   Essentially you are creating doubt through your questions.    If you associate enough pain to those beliefs you’ll change them.    We focus on determines what we feel.    How do you prevent that limiting belief from creeping back into your thought space?   Create empowering beliefs.   Affirmations are important and affirmations are only as important as the action that you take.    If people are going through this exercise on their own, how do they go through the process but also be sensitive to the fact that there is a lot of emotional weight behind and care for themselves in the process?    It depends on where you wan to go.    Limiting beliefs are extremely general.  Once you identify the limiting beliefs, pick them apart and create the doubt.  Then ask how do I create empowering beliefs.    We do things to avoid pain or gain pleasure.    The next step is to take massive action.  Reveal that fear is actually a feeling and not a fact.    Take action a lot.    How do people know what their identity and mission are?    The thoughts you own about yourself is your identity.    Identify limiting beliefs, turning that into empowering beliefs, which is then your identity, then taking massive action.      Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 

Choosing a major feels insanely important … when you’re doing it. According to the Washington Post only 27% of people have jobs related to their major.  If it feels like it’s really overwhelming and really hard, take a deep breath.  It is hard. But know this. 73% of people aren’t using their degree.  When you’re looking at choosing a major you can take 2 different paths / approaches.   Option 1 -  You can go with your passions, your dreams, your personality.  Research. List out what you’re passionate about. List out what your dreams are.  Write about your dream life. Don’t limit that.  Take some personality tests.  Most of them have a job / career section. When you’re looking at that, what is of interest?  What will give you job / career satisfaction. Find people who have worked in those fields.    Option 2 -  Going after the majors that align with the classes that you really enjoyed.  Find people in those fields, ask them all of the questions.    What you shouldn’t do when you’re trying to choose a major:  1 - you shouldn't do what other people are telling you to do  2 - you shouldn't decide based on what you’re friends are doing  3 - you shouldn't decide based on what is cool and popular    Paypal:  paypal.me/stephdennis13 For show notes go to: http://stephdennis13.com/category/careertalk/ To work together:  listentocareertalk.com  For the Google Survey:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1   To connect:   Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13  You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Let’s answer some of your questions!    Question 1:  How do you prepare for aptitude tests?   Question 2:  How do you make your resume relevant?    Question 3:  How to position yourself well with recruiters after being retrenched?   Question 4:  What do I owe my current boss and team once I’ve decided to start looking for a new job? Question 5:  How to decide whether or not to get into management?  Would be better pay, next step in career, are there non management ways to further your career?   Question 6:  How do I ignore the allure of becoming a software developer? Question 7:  How to score an interview when there are so many applications? How to stand out in applications?

How To Answer The Interview Question Tell Me About Yourself  We’ve all been asked this interview question. It feels super loaded which is why I don’t even ask this question.   Tell me about yourself … I immediately think coffee addict, dog mom, wine lover. None of the stuff you should talk about during an interview is what comes to mind. That being said, we have to be with this particular question a little bit more strategic.   What the interviewer is looking for is to know mostly about your background. 90% of this question should be answered about your background. Think about it as your elevator pitch. I have seen people go on and on and on when answering this type of question.  Here is the equation:  1 sentence about our background  1 background diving a little bit deeper 1 sentence about what we passionate about in our field  1-2 super quick tidbits   My example was in tiers. 1 - 50k foot view  2 - 10k foot view  My passion Personal tid bit  Couple reminders:  we are keeping it buttoned up must be less than 2 mins  think about it as your elevator pitch offer enough information for them to get a great overview  providing a foundation for the interviewer to ask questions and dive deeper  personal tid bits  What we are not doing:  rambling on not 50/50 personal and professional  we are not taking over the conversation    To connect:   Instagram:  @stephdennis13  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13  You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Link to Unpacking:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unpacking/id1411156933?mt=2     Today we are diving into some goal setting, prioritization and life evaluation in general. Typically people look at goals at the beginning of the year in January however I still think in February this will be helpful.    I’m going to have you list out the different areas of your life. Some areas may include:  Family Friends Kids / Children Pets  Spirituality / Faith / Religion  Personal Growth & Development  Self Care / Self Love / Alone Time  Spouse / Partner  Dating  Marriage  School / Education  Relationships  Health / Fitness / Movement  Money / Finances / Wealth  Hobbies  Side Businesses / Side Projects    What I want you to do is rate yourself in each category from 1-10. 1 being really bad 10 being really good     As you are setting these goals, let’s use the SMART acronym.  S = Specific  M = Measurable A = Achievable  R = Relevant  T = Time bound / Timely

The first thing I want to start off my saying as we are getting into this conversation about non competes and conflicts of interest is this: I am NOT a lawyer. I want to put that out there right now. If you are seeking legal advice, that is not me. Of course I do have a background in HR and I do know a little bit about conflicts of interest and non competes. Someone asked me about this so I was happy to create an episode. Here was the question:  Someone has a full time position, looking to add a side job, similar industry to what they are in now, currently interviewing for that job.  Is this ok if it’s in a similar industry? Is there a conflict of interest? When would there be a conflict of interest? Who would I talk to without causing issues at my current job?

She's baaaaack y'all!  :)  What topics do you want to hear?  I created a google form to capture your feedback, find it here:  https://goo.gl/forms/PToleX38QgQ4EPaz1 Let me know! 

In this episode we will cover some tips on how to find a job while relocating 

Today we are talking about contracting and consulting today!    Reasons contracting might be a good option for you:  1) You are chasing industries and you don’t have any experience in the new industry  2) Typically you do get more money  3) If you get bored after 6-24 months with a company or in a particular role and you feel you are changing jobs often because you’re bored and you need that change  4) You’re the type of person who likes to work for a variety of different companies  5) You want to work in different type of industries    Reasons why contracting might not be a good fit for you:  1) If you are going to be constantly stressed out about your contract ending, you’re not sure what you’re going to do next and this will give you a ton of stress and anxiety 2) If you need certain benefits if you can’t get in a contracting role (hold for the myths section though LOL)  3) If you will have a fear of not getting a new contract when your current one is over (also this is the opposite of having an abundance mindset  4) If you are the type of person who wants to find a really great company and stick with that company into retirement    Contracting Myths  1) Contracting doesn’t offer stability  2) Benefits 

Have you ever been curious on how to write a really amazing cover letter?    Today we are talking about cover letters and answering some of these questions:  Are they important? Should I write one? How much time should I take on one? What should I include?    Question 1: Should I write a cover letter? Answer: Maybe. Most recruiters do not read cover letters if I am being totally honest.  That being said, there are some hiring managers out there that want to see cover letters.    Question 2: What should I include in my cover letter? Answer: They should be brief and you want to remember you are writing TO someone.  Include:  An attention grabbing paragraph - try asking a question Accomplishments paragraph  Company paragraph  Position paragraph    Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13   You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever been curious as to whether or not you are leveraging LinkedIn to the extent you can during your job search?    6 Ways To Leverage LinkedIn While Searching For A New Job / Career  Turn on your job preferences so other recruiters or hiring managers know you are open to new opportunities Find and apply for jobs  Research contacts at the companies you want to work for  Reach out to those contacts  Reach out to people who are in jobs that you would want  Research a company’s structure / company culture / reporting / titles / etc.    Reminders:  Make sure your profile is up to date  Make sure you have an updated headline  Have a creative / catchy headline  Have a professional and clear picture     Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever received negative feedback?  Or even a bad review?  And you weren’t sure what to do with that information?  Today we have 16 points on how to handle feedback. Remaining calm  Take the time to reflect and evaluate before you react  Reminder: perception is reality  Do not argue  Feedback is a really, really good thing - even if we don’t agree with the feedback being given Look at the data  Ask a lot of questions  Learn Honestly ask yourself, what are the truths in the negative feedback you received?  Asking for help if you need it  Asking yourself and others what your blindspots are  Create a plan to improve  Set clear expectations and goals moving forward  Set follow up progress conversations  Reminder: if you need to vent, try and make sure it’s not with work colleagues  Reminder: when we are getting feedback, we can get better or we can get bitter  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Ever had a leadership or management change?  Were anxious or frustrated? Not sure how to navigate the situation?  I got you 😃    What we want to make sure we are doing during a leadership / management change:  Be honest  Being forthcoming Be open to the change    What you should be communicating to your new manager / new leader:  Priorities  Career aspirations  Goals  Clear expectations  Motivators  Communication style and / or your communication preference  Have meaningful conversations    Positive things about leadership / management changes:  Opportunity for a fresh start  Opportunity or ability to have a new perspective  Being able to have priorities aligned or even re-aligned  Opportunity to improve a process or workflow that might not make sense  Increase team morale  Management / leadership style change    Potential challenges we might face when we have a new leader or manager:  Team morale could decrease  Change management  Management or leadership style  Increase stressed or concern Risk of increased turnover     Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!   Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever needed to ask for help and weren’t sure how? Or overwhelmed and you weren’t sure what to do next?    How exactly you’re going to be executing on asking for help:  Understand what you’re own expertise is and also where your knowledge gaps are  Explain what you’ve already tried and where you are stuck  Prepping your questions for that other person in advance   Quick tips and reminders:  You don’t need to carry the burden of working alone all by yourself forever  We don’t have to be the super hero all the time  There is no shame is asking for help Knowing that is always good to have another person’s perspective  Be very specific when you’re asking for your help  Take notes  Asking for clarification or having follow questions  Make sure we are being kind, courteous, curious and that you’re having fun Be open to feedback and criticism and potentially negative comments    Positive attributes for asking for help:  Helps the people you’re asking for help from feel valued  Earns respect  Fuels teamwork    Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!   To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!   Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Today we are talking about the STAR and SHARE interview methods.  If we know what the recruiter or interviewer is using for their interview methods, you can be better prepared for your interview.  These are interview methods used to evaluate your behavioral based interview questions.   STAR S - Situation - Describe the situation  T - Task- Describe the task you are responsible for completing given situation described above A - Action - Given the situation and the task you had to complete, you will describe the action you took to complete the task and resolve the situation  R - Result - Describe the result of the action you took, the task that was completed and the situation that was resolved    SHARE S - Situation - Describe the situation  H - Hinderances - Describe any hinderances or obstacles you encountered when resolving the situation  A - Action - Given the situation and the task you had to complete, you will describe the action you took to complete the task and resolve the situation  R - Result - Describe the result of the action you took, the task that was completed and the situation that was resolved  E - Evaluate - Explain the evaluation of the situation, essentially what did you learn   Example questions that people are looking for this sort of response:  1) Talk to me about a time you failed to complete an assignment, project or task 2) Talk to me about a time you accomplished something but in the beginning it looked like it was going to be impossible  3) Talk to me about a time you needed to work with a colleague you did not get along with 4) Talk to me about a time you needed to resolve a communication issue 5) Talk to me about a time you needed to resolve a customer issue    Make sure your interview question responses are brief and to the point, we don’t want to ramble on and on and on and on 😃  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you ever started applying for jobs and submitted a ton of applications but didn’t really get any responses or getting a ton of rejection letters?  Or not making it past the application stage?  If the answer is yes, there might be something wrong with your resume.    What to include on your resume:  1) Contact information  First and last name (put what you want to be called on your resume, you can put your legal name on your application) Phone number - it should be the number you want to be contact at (cell phone vs. house phone) Email  City and state  2) Education  If you have a college degree, include your college degree and beyond  If you do not have a college degree, you want to make sure you have your high school education on there  3) Skills  Should be bulleted out  5-10 skills  Relevant to the jobs you’re applying for  4) Experience  Job history  If you don’t have any working history, you can include college projects and / or volunteer experience    What to exclude from your resume:  1) Graduation dates  2) Objectives  3) References  Remove the references  Also remove the line ‘references available upon request’  4) CAPTIAL LETTERS 5) Long summaries     Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you ever worked for a boss that was a complete a jerk? Or you thought they may have been the spawn of satan?   I want to talk to you about this situation today because I know it is not easy.  12 Action Items  1) Observe  2) Don’t jump to conclusions  3) Not to let your work suffer  4) Document   5) Keep emails  6) Have really open, honest communication   7) Being that leader   8) Taking the high road  9) Being the better / bigger person  10) Try to determine what motivates them and what sets them off 11) Contributing to and celebrating success  12) If you need to jump ship:  Do your research. Determine interview questions that you can ask while you’re in an interview with your next future boss. 

Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you needed to make a change in your career and you weren’t sure what change should be?  Or what you want to do?  Or what that change should be?  Sometimes when we need to make a career change it can be overwhelming if we are unclear on what we want to do or where we should be going or even how to get there.  Really the most important thing when we are looking at making a career change is working your plan backwards. Meaning, reverse engineering your career plan. We start out where you want to end up and then work our way backwards and figure out step by step how we are going to get there.  5 Steps to Career Clarity 1) Figure out where you want to go 2) Ask yourself why you want to get there  3) What skills do you need to accomplish, or acquire, that you don’t already have now?  4) Figure out how you’re going to close the gap on the skills you need to have (number 3) and the skills you have now.  5) Start having conversations. Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

 10 Ways To Lead Without Authority or Title Make sure you are coming from a genuine place  Be constantly learning and growing  Want to be the one who is asking the tough questions  Always be asking for feedback  Helping your colleagues when they need it  Don’t wait to be asked to do something  Take on additional responsibilities and be that leader  Asking your manager how you can help  Be a top producer with top quality work  Being positive and staying positive through tough situations    Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Top 13 Reasons You Are Failing Your Phone Interviews:  Research or lack thereof research  Eating and / or chewing gum  Not knowing the company you applied to  Not knowing the job you applied to  Coming across as desperate  Applying to every job  Not being able to talk about money  Working out during your phone interview  Smoking  Lying / being caught in a lie / just being shady  Inability or unwillingness to answer questions  Saying yes to a drastic payout  Not aligning with the level of the position  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13  You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever wondered the difference between a co-op and an intern? Co-ops  Good way to get your foot into the door of a good company you are targeting  Can be required, not always and if you’re part of a co-op program you are stopping classes to work full time  Paid program  Usually lasts about 3-12 months  You get school credit  Heavily related to your school program / major / area of study  Could be part of a rotational program  Interns / Internships  For current students  Internships are typically shorter than the co-ops, usually lasting over the summer or fall/spring Compensation - can be paid, unpaid or an exchange for housing or something similar  Not typically required  Typically not getting school credit  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13  You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

I have had quite a few people reach out to me asking how to transition from corporate america to being a business owner. 1) Answer: How do you want to be helping other people?  2) Answer: What skills do you need to learn?   This will be a never ending list!  3) Answer: What Skills do you need to learn before you will feel ready to start?  Make sure this list is what you truly need to learn before you start?  Hint: you can start earlier than you think!  4) Answer: How can your day job help you with your future business?  5) Answer: Can you be working on any cross functional teams?  6) Answer: How are you dedicating your team to learn, test and invest in the things you want to try? 7) Find a business coach you trust online and start consuming their content.  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you guys heard about the six word story? Reach out to me on Facebook at:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 What would your six word story be as it relates to your career? Essentially what this six word story would be, is a story, about your career, in only six words. What words would you choose?  Mine would be:  Learn, grow, thrive. Help, coach, teach.  What would be your six word story as it relates to your life in general?   Do you have alignment between the two? Should they be?  Do you need to make any changes?  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Where does your resume go after you hit submit in an application? It is typically referred to as resmeland which what we are talking about today!  Key points:  1) Upload your resume in every application. 2) There is no keyword search or algorithm that automatically rejects people. 3) You could be rejected without someone looking at your resume. Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 You’re awesome!!  Go be your amazing self today!!! 

Have you ever been rejected from a position or from an application for the reason that you are overqualified?  This is legitimate reason to turn someone down for positions however there are a lot of assumptions and myths out there around this topic so let’s talk about this!  I want to talk about this topic in 4 main topics.  Common Myths  People think they are getting rejected because they are too old  “I was told I was overqualified for the position but now what I think is you won’t hire me because I will someday take the hiring manager’s job” The hiring manager or recruiter feels threatened  Candidate Concerns  Income  Supporting their family  They want to do work that is easier than what they have been doing in the past  HR / Human Resources / Recruiting / Hiring Manager Concerns  Offering people work that is going to challenging and exciting for them  We feel people will leave early or right away  Position alignment  Compensation  Things You Can Do Aim higher  If you’re looking to do easier work, ensure you are talking to everyone you talk about why you want to make the move and what is motivating this transition  Being overqualified is not the same as being under qualified for a position.  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Danelle’s Etsy Shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/florenceoliver?ref=l2-shopheader-name Have you ever wondered whether or not you should stay in your job? Or quit? Or accept another offer? Or entertain an interview request from a recruiter? Or just in general when is the right time to start looking for another job? When we are thinking about possibly quitting or looking at other jobs or accepting another offer, etc.  There are 6 questions you need to ask and answer:  1) What are my goals 2) What would cause you to want to entertain taking a new position?  3) What do you like and dislike about your current position?  4) If you have another job to compare to: 5) Is compensation a factor?  6) What does my job history look like? Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you ever wondered what you could be doing better when it comes to your annual review?  The first thing I want to make sure we are on the same page about when it comes to your annual review or performance review or whatever your company is calling it, is that it is a two way conversation. It’s not just one person doing all the talking.  I also want to prepare you to hear both positive as well as negative feedback.  There are 4 topics we are going to be talking about as it relates to your annual review. 1) Ask questions  2) Aligning with your manager  3) The money   4) Growth   Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Today we are going to be talking about how to successfully transition from a military to a civilian career. First - I want to thank everyone who has served or is serving is our military.  When we are looking at transitioning from a military to a civilian career, from the HR perspective, there are 2 main things you will want to do. 1) Break it down  2) Connecting the dots   Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you ever wondered how to better sell yourself in an interview? Or have you ever wondered how you could make yourself stand out from other people who are applying to the same positions?  Instead of going through sales tactics, let’s talk about what candidates do that set themselves apart from the others.  What candidates do to set themselves apart in an interview:  1) Research 2) Asking questions throughout the conversation 3) Tie it all in or connect the dots on their experience  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!  To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you ever experienced a career setback?  Or felt you fumbled through something? And wanted to understand how to overcome that setback? Or mistake? Or the learning experience?   Today we are talking about 4 things you should be doing if you feel you had a major career setback / hurdle.    1) Establish the root cause of the setback 2) Recalibrate  3) Check your motivation levels  4) Ask yourself  - Do you need to ask for help?    Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Have you found yourself recently applying for a ton of jobs and you’re just not getting any callbacks or responses from your resume? Or maybe you feel you’re just not getting enough traction or you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. It’s really important when you are applying for jobs and you’re putting your resume out there, you make sure that your resume is the best it can be because while you may think your resume is great and has all the information it should have, you also have to think about the people who are looking at the resume. The recruiters and the hiring managers. And you want to make sure you are tailoring your resume to the right audience.  6 questions you should be asking yourself to determine whether or not your resume needs a makeover:  1) Do you have an objective on your resume?  2) Are the skills you have listed specific to you and your career search? 3) Does your resume have a ton of paragraphs?  4) Do you have your full contact information on your resume?  5) The experience I have listed on my resume, is it relevant?  6) Do you have references listed on your resume? 

So you finally get that job that you’ve been wanting so bad, and it’s your first day at work, now what? That is what we are going to be talking about today!  Today is episode #40 where we are going to be talking about what to do on your first day, your first week or even month of that new job. 

Today we are going to be talking about how to talk money in an interview. Have you ever been in an interview where somebody asked you about compensation and you were anything less than confident in answering that question?  Today we are talking about how to talk about money in an interview, how to talk about them dollars 😃  The first thing I want you to do before you have an interview is understand you are going to have to talk about money and be prepared to do so. Mentally just get yourself ready.  Just think about that and just be ready. We’re going to ask you about money and you need to be able to confidently speak about it.

Have you ever been in a situation at work where you had growing responsibility but you didn’t necessarily have any of the perks that may come along with that additional responsibility? Well today that is what we are talking about!  Today we are talking about how to handle the situation when you have growing responsibilities or growing duties but there really is no benefit, so maybe your title is changing, your salary is staying the same or your hourly wage is staying the same. So you have to do a bunch more work, but that what’s in it for me question, is like nada. 

Have you ever asked, should I hire a resume writer? Today that is the exact question we are going to be answering!  Now before I get into my thoughts here I want to give my disclaimer of it’s just that, these are my thoughts, these are my opinions, as someone who is the field of HR and how I view resume writing.  Ok, disclaimer over. It’s such a common question, and let me say this, I don’t want to upset anyone and I don’t want to offend anyone by answering this question. This is really meant for you guys to understand how I view this and how all the other recruiters I’ve talked to view this as well. I haven’t found another recruiter who disagrees with my opinion here, but trust me, I know they are out there, we’re not all the same, trust me.  Here’s the short answer to this question, should I hire a resume writer?  In my opinion no, I don’t think you should. 

Today we are talking about 3 days to get a raise.  This is really important because I talk to a lot people that need to make more money, they need to better support their families or career growth from a compensation perspective.  Before I get into the 3 ways to get a raise, I want to de-myth, if that’s the right phrase, the idea that needing or wanting more money is a bad thing.  Because here’s the deal, when we can make a better income we can better support our families, we have more opportunity to serve people in other ways, maybe we can make donations, maybe we can create a better life for the people we care about whether that is a spouse, your parents or kids.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to better your financial situation. However, I would be very cautious that doesn’t become consuming for you but out of the gate, I just want to have that conversation. A lot of people seem to think if someone wants to make more money they are just selfish and money hungry crazy people and that’s just not true. I mean for some people, sure it’s true. But of the majority of us we want a bigger income for something more, maybe we need to save or some of the things we talked about earlier. 

Have you ever been curious if there are different rules or different tips we should be considering when we have a phone interview?  Yes!  It’s important to dig in deeper to specifically phone interview tips.  As a recruiter I am doing a phone interview before I send candidates to hiring managers and I want to help people get better at winning their phone interview. 

Do you have a mentor? Do you want a mentor? Maybe you want another mentor?  If you are able to find a really solid, amazing mentor, it can literally change your life.   

Have you ever wondered how to write a resume?  Today we are going to be talking about how to write a resume in 6 easy steps.  This episode is making the assumption you are starting from scratch so if you already have a resume written, use this as a guide to ensure you have everything you need.  

Episode Summary:  Have you ever wanted or needed to make a career change but you didn’t want to have to start all over?  This can be tricky out of the gate. What do I mean by start over?  Does this mean not having to go back to school and get another degree? Does this mean not having to lose my seniority? Does it mean not having to take an entry level salary if I have a tenure salary right now? There are a lot of different things this could mean.

Episode Summary:   Has anyone else ever noticed how interviewing is kind of like dating?  When we really think about it, interviewing is very similar to dating.  Pre Meeting Communication  Maybe someone has reached out to set up an interview.  Could be phone call, email, text, etc. but the interview 'starts' with that communication.  Just because the interview hasn’t officially started yet, doesn’t mean as a recruiter, I’m not already evaluating you as a candidate.  How you communicate before you meet can help or hurt you.  First Meeting Show up prepared and on time. You also need to be dressed well.  Unless noted otherwise, business professional.  First Impressions  Eye contact, smile, firm handshake - regardless of if you are a man or woman!  Conversations  During your interview, make sure you are listening to what the person is saying during your interview.  Don’t be asking questions about what the person has already shared with you!  Ask questions and truly have a conversation during your interview, this shows interest.  Make sure it’s a two way conversation.  Next Steps  Ask about the next steps to show interest  Follow Up Have appropriate level of follow up!  Now don’t be a psycho stalker, no need to end this relationship with a restraining order y’all!  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Episode Summary:   Ever been curious just how many types of resumes there are out there? And which one should you use? What is best to highlight your experience?    One of the questions you want to ask yourself when you are trying to figure out which type of resume you want to use, is what do I want to highlight and what do I want to stand out the most? What I mean by that is when someone takes that first glance at your resume, they look at it, what do you want their eyes to go to? Do you want your skills to be displayed first? Do you want your experience to pop out? This isn’t necessarily what’s the first line at the tope of the page.    There are 4 main types of resumes out there. 1) The chronological resume 2) The functional resume  3) The combination resume  4) Job specific of targeted resume 

Episode Summary:  Have you ever wondered when it’s too soon to leave your job? Or what is really considered job hopping?  Is this really job hopping? The answer is complicated. And here’s why. It depends. It depends on what your goals are, what your dreams are, what career you’re in, what’s your happiness level, what’s your current job history look like now. This can be tricky. There are two big sides to this. The first side being your happiness.  The second side to this is your job history. If your last 2 positions you have had, if you were in your job for a year or less, I would try a few other options before you quit.  1) See if you can move internal 2) You can explore contracting 

Episode Summary:  Are you feeling unhappy in your job or career and not sure what to do about it?  Today we are talking about 3 things you can do if you are not happy with your job or your career.  I’m sure we’ve all had that job or career that we are just not happy with.  Maybe you’re in that job or on that career path right now. I can tell you from my background, it can be super discouraging.  Our jobs and our careers can make such a positive impact on our lives, so this is really important.  If you’re in that same place and you’re not happy in your current job or on your current career path, there are 3 things you can do.   1) Get a new job  2) Have a conversation or talk it out  3) Look within the company for other jobs 

Have you ever been confused about what behavioral based interview questions are?  Stay tuned!    Today we are talking about prepping for an interview and specifically behavioral based interview questions.  When we are looking at preparing for an interview there is really no way to know the exact questions we are going to be asked. But we can make sure we understand what a lot of the common behavioral based interview questions are so we can prepare.    Most of these types of questions start off the same for example, ‘talk to me about a time when...’.    When you answer these kinds of questions use the STAR method.  S - Situation  T - Task A - Action  R - Result    Common behavioral based interview questions:    Teamwork Talk to me about a time when you had to complete a team project  Tell me about a failed team project and why it failed  Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague and how you handled it    Communication  Talk to me about a time you had to communicate a new project, process or initiative  Talk to me about a time you had to gain buy in on a new idea, innovation, concept or something that wasn’t popular Tell me about a communication break down and how you overcame that    Organization / Time Management  Talk to me about how you structure your day and your week Tell me about a time where you missed a deadline  Tell me about how you go about prioritizing your tasks    Failures  Tell me about a time you failed to complete a task or project  Tell me about a time you worked on something and you realized you would not be able to complete it  Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and what happened    Goals  Tell me about a goal you achieved and how you accomplished it  Talk to me about how you set goals and how you plan to achieve them  Talk to me about how you attach deadlines or timelines to you goals    I hope that gives you an idea as to what behavioral based interview questions look like. If you need more practice use these questions as a template to create your own questions based on the information you have on your resume.  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13

Today we are going over the 12 common mistakes recruiters make! 

Have you ever wondered how your self awareness impacts your work?  Or how personal development impacts your work? Today we are talking about self awareness, this is really important both at work and at home.   Today we are talking about 7 things you need to be self aware of:  1) Strengths  What do you do well? What are the things you totally awesome at  2) Weaknesses  Where are your areas of opportunity? What are the things you can still grow in? What do you need improvement on? A couple tools you can use to help better understand yourself are:  1) Myers Briggs personality test  Check out:  16personalities.com 2) Strengths Finder (book) Here is a link to the book on Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/StrengthsFinder-2-0-Tom-Rath/dp/159562015X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484006734&sr=8-1&keywords=strengths+finder  When I first got into personal development and looked at these two tools, I was literally blown away by all the information I learned. It’s not that we don’t know ourselves, its really putting that information into words and turning that into actionable items.  3) Triggers  When you are stressed what triggers you to get upset, frustrated, disengaged, distracted, etc?  Once you understand your triggers, you need to put systems in place to help avoid or overcome those triggers.  4) Asking yourself why you feel a certain way about certain situations  When you think about how you feel, think about why you are feeling that way   5) Asking yourself if you ever get irrationally angry at work  We all get upset, frustrated, angry, etc at work. But ask yourself if you get irrationally angry, then ask yourself why. Then take that answer and ask yourself why, and repeat this process a couple more times. This will help you understand the entire situation  6) Ask yourself if any of your ‘weaknesses’ can be considered strengths?  7) Ask yourself if you plan to work on your strengths? Or work on your weaknesses?  Do you want to make a few weaknesses a little bit better or do you want to take your strengths and make them excellent?  Know yourself and understand yourself so we can do better!    If you are looking for a similar episode check out:  #21: Feedback   Next week:  #26: 12 Common Mistakes Recruiters Make    Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!

Today we are talking about dealing with disrespect at work, this can be a really challenging thing to deal with.  As humans we tend to react to disrespect faster than our brains can catch up if that makes sense.  If someone is being mean and disrespectful to me,  typically I react with emotion, which there is nothing wrong with emotion, don’t get me wrong.  But, I don’t always slow down and think about what the situation is and what’s happening.    This is really, really important at work.  Most of us see our colleagues on a daily basis and we really want to make sure we are building and maintaining those relationships.    Two things to keep in mind:   1) Be very approachable and consciously be thinking about this. 2) Be available so you can have the conversation and move on.   During the conversation do these 7 things:  1) Assume there was positive intent behind whatever happened, assume they are coming from a good place until you know otherwise. 2) Ask questions to understand the situation.  3) Truly assess the situation, put yourself in the other persons shoes. 4) Listen to understand, do not listen just to simply reply. 5) Focus on the facts, this is really important, especially at work. We all know the game of telephone!   6) Talk it out. I have never seen conflicts that have been truly resolved without a conversation.  7) Use ‘me' and ‘I' statements, avoid ‘you' statements.   During the conversation think about these 4 things:  1) Are you being disrespected or are you having a disagreement?  2) How is your day going?  3) Boundaries - what boundaries are going to be setting moving forward?  4) How well you know the person you are in conflict with?   When it comes to being disrespected at work, it is not okay and it is not acceptable.  Try to talk it out first and if it continues to happen you need to get someone else involved.    Come back next week when we are going to be talking about self awareness in episode #25!  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!!   To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

Is your career part of your 2017 goals? It definitely should be! We are going to walk through a series of questions to help you figure out your career goals for 2017.  Our goal here is to learn, grow and thrive in our careers.  Happy New Year!!!! It is the time of the year where everyone starts to look at how last year went and what we want to accomplish next year.  I am a MAJOR nerd, I love setting goals, I love making lists, accomplishing my goals and checking things off my list. One person I look to for goal setting advice is Chalene Johnson, check her out on social!  When we look at our 2017 goals we need to make sure our careers and jobs are part of those goals. Our career is something we want to make sure we are evaluating each year, I would even encourage you to do this monthly or at a minimum quarterly.  Get out a piece of paper and pen because I want you to make sure your goals are written down on paper. They need to be specific. A lot of people follow the SMART goals process:  S - Specific M - Measurable  A - Attainable  R - Realistic  T - Timeline   We are going to cover 3 sets of questions, how to evaluate your career, evaluating your current job and questions that will help you set your 2017 career goals.  Evaluating your current career:  1) Think about how your career went in 2017, write down some thoughts  Think about what went well  Think about what did not go well Think about some of your biggest accomplishments Think about some of your biggest areas of opportunity  Journal that out for a few minutes   2) Are you where you want to be in your career?  When you look at your ultimate goal, where you are looking to be in your career, are you where you want to be?  If the answer is no, what are you going to do to change that?  If the answer is yes, how are you going to grow?  Evaluating your current job: 1) Do you enjoy what you do on a day to day basis? When you list out your typical day, week or month, do you enjoy those tasks?  Why or why?  This is everything, this will help you determine if you need to make a change and if so, what change you need to make 2) Do you enjoy the type of work you do or the type of projects you work on?  Why or why not? 3) How do you feel on Monday mornings or Sunday nights?  Ask yourself why you are feeling this way?   Questions that will help you set your 2017 career goals: 1) What is your specific career goal you are going to accomplish in 2017? Be specific Specific enough if I asked you how you would know if you accomplished your goals, you would know the answer.  What projects do you want to be involved in? What momentum do you want to get? What skills do you want to learn in 2017?  I hope you take the time to write out the information we covered today!  If you want to dig in deeper, check out these episodes:  #3 - How Do You Feel On Sunday Nights? #5 - Dating Story Turned Career Coaching #20 - Evaluating Your Career  

Have you ever wondered what questions are going to be asked in your interview? Keep listening!  Popular Interview Questions  If you’re heading into an interview for your dream job you want to make sure you are prepared as much as possible so you are confident going into your interview. I would recommend practicing some of these popular interview questions.  1 - Tell me what had originally caught your attention about ABC Inc and why you’re interested in 123 position. Recruiters and hiring managers really want to know why you want to work for the company and why you want this particular role. 2 - Talk to me about a typical day or typical week and your responsibilities. We are looking to understand how you spend your time and what you are responsible for. 3 - Talk to me about your goals and how you performed to that goal. Recruiters / hiring managers are looking to see if you are hitting your goals. 4 - Why are you looking at news job / What is currently motivating you to want to explore new opportunities? We want to know why are you looking for a new job but be careful, don’t be negative here. 5 - Where are looking to take your career / what are your career goals / Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years? Just be honest  6 - Money. You need to be prepared to talk about compensation Be confident and be prepared for this question 7 - What questions do you have for me? Be sure your questions haven’t already been answered  If you feel you need more preparation, google interview questions, there are hundreds out there!  Check out episode #12 for additional interview tips!  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13  Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

Feedback is so important, I cannot stress enough how important feedback is. Here’s a question for you:  Do you ask for feedback often? At work? At home? With friends? Why or why not? Take some time to think about that.   Am I asking my boss for feedback? Am I asking my colleagues for feedback? Am I asking my spouse at home for feedback? Am I asking my family for feedback? Am I asking my friends what their thoughts are?  This is really important.  Specifically as it relates to our career, feedback is a really interesting part of our jobs that most of us only receive once a year. Often it’s in the form of annual review, performance review or a merit increase conversation. It is usually a very formal conversation and often it is not very helpful or productive.  All employees care about what their raise is going to be. Often managers need to just get the reviews done. I want you to think about how you can get more feedback throughout the year so you can constantly be improving.  If you sit down with your boss and they tell you hey Steph I think you did a really good job in A, B, C categories, I think you could use improvements in D, E and F categories and here are some examples from 3, 6 and 11 months ago. What?!?! Why wouldn’t we get that feedback right away and on the spot.   Here’s the deal, you need to ask for the feedback. Ask hey manager how can I improve? What suggestions for you have for me?  You need to be the one who takes charge of the conversation.   THEN you need to be grateful for whatever the response is. Feedback is a gift. EVEN if we don’t like the feedback we get. It tells us how we can improve and what people’s perceptions are of you. It is a gift. Even if you disagree, even if you think it’s complete bullshit.  Now you know!  Don’t react in a negative way if you get bad feedback, don’t get defensive, take notes, ask follow up questions. You want to make the conversation easy so the person will want to share their feedback with you in the future.  Ask questions like:  How can I improve X metric? What areas can I improve in? Where do I do well?  What are my strengths?  Don’t forget to share your gratitude for the feedback!!!  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  This this episode we cover 8 questions you should be asking yourself to evaluate your career. Get clarity on whether or not your dream career is truly your dream career! Don't get to end of your career and realize you pursued the wrong career for years.  These are the 8 questions you should be asking yourself when it comes to your career.  What is it? What is your dream career? Why do you want it? When do you want to get there? How will this make me feel? How will obtaining this job make me feel? Is this what you want to feel? Where am I at now? Where are you at right now from your career standpoint? What skills or knowledge do I need to obtain? How long will it take to acquire those skills / knowledge? Does this financially make sense? Can I accomplish in my current job? Talk to others in this job This is EVERYTHING!  What do they like about their career? Do they have any regrets? Why did they pick that career? How long did it take them to get there? Other life goals  Does your life goals align with your career goal? Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  In this episode I cover 12 book recommendations, 9 that will help you at work and in business, 3 that are Christian / Faith based books.  Business / work related books:  1) Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier  2) Essentialism by Greg McKeown  3) 5 Dysfunctions Of A Team by Patrick Lencioni  4) Extreme Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin 5) How To Win Friends And Influence Others by Dale Carnegie  6) People Over Profit by Dale Partridge  7) Rising Strong by Brene Brown  8) You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero  9) The Big Leap by Hendricks Gay  Faith / Christian books:  1) 2 Chairs by Bob Beaudine  2) Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis  3) The Power Of I Am by Joel Osteen  Thank you so much for listening! I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  In this episode we are going to talk about the 3 main types of recruiting. 1) Corporate recruiting  2) Agency recruiting  3) MLM recruiting  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:   Ever wonder if you're coming across as confident? Or arrogant? Or both? In this episode we talk about 6 signs you're coming across as arrogant in an interview. For interview tips, check out episode #12 - Interview Tips  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  Ever wonder how technology is changing the way we apply for jobs? In this episode we answer the question - is the resume dead? For resume templates and ideas head over to:  pinterest.com  canva.com  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  In this episode we are going to talk about the millennial generation. Specifically we will cover general information, what millennials look for when it comes to brands/companies and what millennials are attracted to in the workplace. For detailed show notes go to: Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  In this episode we go over 10 LinkedIn profile tips  1) Picture  2) Taglines  3) Industry section 4) Summary section  5) Job titles  6) Recommendations  7) Messages  8) Be honest  9) Keywords  10) Open profile and settings  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!! 

About this episode:  In this episode we talk about the characteristics of leaders and managers.  Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!!   

About this episode:  This episode talks about five areas of interview tips: pre interview, prep, interview, post interview and things to avoid. Thank you so much for listening. I would love to connect and learn how I can help you! Connect with me below!!! To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Have an amazing, awesome, rockin day!!!   

To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13   

To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13    

To connect -  Facebook:  www.Facebook.com/StephDennis13 Listen to the full episode to see how I handled my work day after saying good bye to my pup.

In this episode we will cover resume tips, what to include in your resume, what to exclude and much more!  Facebook -  www.facebook.com/stephdennis13

In this episode we cover 10 signs you might need a new job.  Facebook -  www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Instagram -  @stephdennis13 

In this episode we talk about the thick red tape of corporate America and 6 steps you can take to overcome some of the red tape chaos.  Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephdennis13 Instagram: @stephdennis13  

In this episode I share a dating story that turned into career coaching (that did NOT turn into a second date LOL). This story illustrates the importance of aligning both your career and personal goals. 

In this episode we talk about getting bitter or getting better when something bad happens or you get in trouble for something.  We cover what bitter looks like and what getting better looks like. 

In this episode I encourage you to evaluate how you feel on Sunday nights (or the night before you go back to work after your weekend). Are you excited, eager, motivated and energized? Or are you bummed, depressed, stressed, anxious, overwhelmed and dreading the morning?  Once we figure out how we are feeling I walk through 3 things you can do if you are in the 2nd group of feelings. 

In this episode we go over 13 ways to get through a bad day at work. 

Brief overview of why we are all here and why I decided to make this podcast.  Did you know you deserve a job that brings you joy and happiness? You do! 

An introduction of the the Career Talk: Learn - Grow - Thrive podcast