================================================ "Achieve Your Dreams" - Volume 20, November 2006 ================================================ Greetings! Welcome to "Achieve Your Dreams", a bi-monthly newsletter for people with a dream - - whether it's accelerating a career, changing careers, building a business, securing a new job, achieving that long-desired goal, or discovering a new life vision and direction. Each newsletter will offer 1-2 noteworthy articles, a section on "Office Happenings" and "Helpful Resources", and some favorite quotes and sayings to motivate and inspire you. In this issue: 1. "Keeping Spirits Up When the Job Search Gets Long" 2. Office Happenings (Great Holiday Gift!) 3. Helpful Resources (How Do You Make Those Tiny URLs?) 4. Favorite Quotes Feel free to forward this to those you believe would find it useful. Feedback is encouraged and appreciated. If there is a specific topic you'd like covered, please send the suggestion to me via the e-mail address below. Enjoy ... ================================================ Keeping Spirits Up When the Job Search Gets Long ================================================ Few things can wreak havoc on your self-esteem more than a job search that doesn't result in immediate success. No matter what's caused you to seek a new position - whether you're a new college graduate, a casualty of downsizing, or a dissatisfied employee looking for a change - a prolonged job search can erode your self-confidence and cause you to question your marketability and self-worth. As frustrating as a job search can be, it's vital that you work to maintain high spirits throughout the process, not only for your own well-being, but also to prevent the negative impact your discouragement and doubts may have on your ultimate success. Fortunately, it's doable! Here are some things you can do to maintain high levels of energy and confidence throughout your job search: WOW THEM WITH A KILLER RESUME AND COVER LETTER If your resume and cover letter are "so-so," or make you cringe when you send them out, then it's time to do a serious revision. After all, if these documents don't impress you, they won't impress a prospective employer either. You've worked too hard in your career to allow your materials to sell you short. So take the time to ensure that your resume and cover letter represent the absolute best of who you are and what you can offer a potential employer. A resume crafted with pride will convey pride. WOW YOURSELF WITH YOUR SKILLS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS It's often said that finding a job is a job in and of itself. As such, if the process draws on longer than anticipated, you can easily become disheartened. This can translate into corrosive levels of doubt in your own skills and credentials. So, it's essential to consistently remind yourself of all the positive attributes, experiences and accomplishments you have to offer a potential employer. Give your confidence a "work out" by regularly asking yourself the following questions: What are you most proud of in your career? What tasks or projects did you most enjoy doing? What skills did you use to accomplish those tasks? What have managers, coworkers, customers, vendors, and other colleagues consistently complimented you on? Your answers will help you remain focused and sustain you through any disappointments you may encounter. REMEMBER THAT PRACTICE MAKES POWERFUL Few things in life are more intimidating than a job interview, particularly if you've already had a few and have received no job offers. Talk about discouraging! Worse still, if you allow feelings of apprehension and dismay to grow with each rejection, your performance in future interviews may suffer. The best way to quell interview anxiety is to practice communicating your qualities, accomplishments and experiences effectively. Prepare to share your success stories with the enthusiasm they merit. And prime yourself for meeting tougher interview situations, like being asked to share one of your weaknesses, with assurance. Practice out loud to a friend or to yourself until you can promote yourself with certainty. Armed with a cache of positive language you can easily and enthusiastically articulate, you'll be freed to approach each interview as an opportunity to showcase your gifts as opposed to an ordeal to be endured. BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION OF SUPPORT Too many people try to go through a job search alone, which means they are dealing with any associated disappointment alone. Unfortunately, lacking the perspective that one or more people can provide can amplify your dismay and, in turn, impede your progress. So, be sure to have a minimum of one person in your corner who will listen to you, boost your confidence and propel you forward when the going gets tough. Likewise, avoid interactions with people who, for whatever reason, aren't as supportive - people who question or even criticize your aspirations and tactics without providing constructive alternatives. Even the most subtle ridicule from the "toxic" people in your life will do more to chip away at your self- confidence than most anything else. DON'T ALLOW YOUR JOB SEARCH TO CONSUME YOUR LIFE We all know the importance of striking a healthful balance between our work and personal lives. This same wisdom applies when we're conducting a job search. Combat job search blues by periodically turning your attention away from your search and toward activities that ground you, make you laugh, and get you "outside" of yourself, whether it's reading a great book, heading out for a long walk, or enjoying a night out with friends. And be sure to take care of your physical needs. Eat healthy, exercise, and get plenty of rest. Looking for a job is challenging enough without having to tackle fatigue or illness on top of it. NEVER EQUATE REJECTION WITH FAILURE As a job search wears on, rejections can mount. Interviews may fail to generate offers or even follow-up interviews. Some of your resume submissions may receive no response at all. When this happens, it's easy to become bogged down in a web of self-blame and low spirits. Don't allow yourself to travel this destructive path. The truth is, rejection is part of success. After all, even Abraham Lincoln lost a senatorial election before becoming arguably the greatest president in the history of the United States! Far from being a reflection of any failure on your part, rejections are simply signals that you have not yet found the right opportunity. And, when you finally find that right opportunity (and, you will!), all the rejections that preceded its arrival will fade into insignificance. RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ARE NOT YOUR JOB Of course work is important to you. On a practical level, it provides needed income. On an emotional level, it affords you personal fulfillment and a means of defining yourself. As such, when faced with joblessness, you may feel a loss of identity. It's crucial to remember that your job is only one of many vital roles you play within your life. You may also be a spouse/ significant other, parent, sibling, friend, church member, and/or community participant. Not only do these roles provide fulfillment and meaning to your life, your participation in them provides support, emotional connection, and validation to others. Do all you can to keep work's function in perspective. FINALLY ... KEEP YOUR EYE ON THAT PROVERBIAL LIGHT No matter how endless the job search feels, know that much like a train ride through a long, dark tunnel, it will end. Just as the train must exit the tunnel and once again enter the light, you too will find a new job. As long as you are taking consistent action on your job search, a positive outcome is assured. Regularly reminding yourself of this will help you to remain focused and sustain your momentum until you achieve inevitable success. ================= Office Happenings ================= GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT! Do you have a friend, family member or colleague who's struggling to land a new job? Are they getting calls for interviews, but can't seem to secure any offers? If so, then my new DVD, "10 Steps to Interviewing With Confidence," could be the perfect holiday gift for them! This 60-minute DVD, with its comprehensive Study Guide, captures the most common interview challenges and offers key strategies and techniques to help people in all industries and at all levels of an organization succeed on an interview and get the job they deserve. "10 Steps To Interviewing With Confidence" teaches job seekers how to: - "Sell" their skills and accomplishments by creating powerful success stories - Master the answers to some of the toughest interview questions - Tackle the salary question with ease and conviction - Ace the phone screen - And more... Place your order before December 20 and your gift will include my FREE special report, "Negotiating Your Best Offer" (use Promotion Code HG06). Go to http://www.careerdesigns.biz/dvd.htm for more information and to place your order now. Help someone you know feel more confident going on their next interview! ================= Helpful Resources ================= HOW DO YOU MAKE THOSE TINY URLs?: Many of you have seen the tinyurl.com links floating around in emails and are wondering how to create them. It's simple. Go to http://www.tinyurl.com. In the box that says: "Enter a long URL to make tiny" enter your long URL. Click "Make TinyURL!" You will be given a shorter URL, which you can then use in emails and other communications. The service is free and the tiny filename never expires. Never again will long URLs have bad line-breaks, causing email recipients to have to cut and paste it back together! NEED TO CREATE A PDF DOCUMENT? For those who do not have the capability to create an Adobe PDF document, here's one solution you'll appreciate - http://www.pdfonline.com/. Simply scroll half way down the page and click on "Start Creating PDF Now"; navigate to the file that you want turned into a PDF; specify the new file name you want for the PDF document; provide your email address; and, voila, within seconds, your PDF document will be emailed to you as an attachment. =============== Favorite Quotes =============== "When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It is to enjoy each step along the way." -- Wayne Dyer "We cannot become what we need to be by remaining where we are." -- Max De Pree "All we are is a result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become." -- Buddha "Life is an ever-unfolding journey, with each new day granting us new opportunities. Don't forget to open your eyes, your mind, and your heart, to YOUR life." -- Natalie Scott With the end of 2006 rapidly approaching, I'd like to extend my warmest wishes to you and your families for a joyous and fun filled holiday season and a New Year filled with love, happiness and peace on earth. Happy Holidays everyone!!! In support of you, Jeanne ** If you would like someone added to this newsletter distribu- tion list, please forward their name and e-mail address to me. They will be added promptly. ** If you would like to be removed from this list, please reply to me via this e-mail address. I will remove your name promptly.