Random Career Opportunities

I haven't gotten around to putting any blogs up the last two or three weeks but for a good reason. I was contacted through my personal email by someone who was looking for someone to help out with a business plan. I read it, and moved it directly to my spam folder. Why would anyone approach me about a writing a business plan? I thought it was one of those email scams that is just fishing for any kind of personal information.To my surprise, a few days later I got another email inquiring about the exact same topic from the same individual. I decided to investigate the emails a little further and it turned out, I was legitimately being approached by an entrepreneur who knew my background and wanted to team up with me for an idea he had. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected someone approaching me out of the blue to ask about pairing up for a potential business opportunity!

Turns out, my name (through "random" networking that I participated in throughout college) had gotten to him through a friend of a friend. It is absolutely amazing how small connections you make with any person throughout your life can come back to you (and I'm only 23!). After replying to this guy through email, he decided he would like to meet up with me in person to talk business. He drove about two hours to meet me and we agreed upon a basic package where I would write up a business plan for him for a set price.

To think that an absolute stranger who heard my name decided to drive two hours to come talk to me face-to-face is absolutely stunning--and it all stems from networking and taking a risk. Now I cannot say that I have wisdom on the subject like many of you reading this blog do, but I have had countless of people from an executive level to an hourly level employee tell me never to say no to a good opportunity. Whether it is a random opportunity like I described earlier or that random project that has been tossed around your group at work, grab hold of that opportunity and give it your all. These random projects is what builds perspective, reputation, and allows you to build and strengthen your basic leadership skills. Proving that you are proficient in learning a new topic or completing something outside of your expertise is not only self-fulfilling but is a strength that is downright marketable.

Do you have a random opportunity that you came across recently? Feel free to comment or email me with any stories, questions, or concerns you may have.

Message to Recent Graduates and Mid-life Career Changers

To anyone that is looking to join the workforce for the first time or is in the process of changing fields, rest assured that your worries that have in your gut right now are shared across millions of people across the United States and the world. From worrying about getting field relevant experience to the morphing global markets, there are so many moving parts sometimes you need to keep them out of mind and focus on promoting yourself. My personal experiences have led me to a few simple things to focus on to make sure you can land the job you want in the field you want. 

• Wordsmith every little detail in your resume. Your resume is what represents the blood, sweat, tears, and probably stress-related hair loss to the entire world. Each word has to be hand-picked to be focused on actions and the direct result of your actions. You may think your resume is perfect the way it is, but no resume is perfect. Get your close friends, family, and colleagues to critique the heck out of it (for perspective I've had over 30 people take a detailed look at my resume). Let them bleed the red ink all over it. Get the format consistent and the details crisp to every last letter. 

• Identify and reach out to your network. Identifying your network is fairly simple in the digital world we live in. From LinkedIn, to Facebook, to business cards you've been collecting, even to pulling from emails that are years old, you know people. You have connections which you need to utilize. Do not think any one person is too distant in your history to reach out to--which leads perfectly into the next topic. 

• Cold calls/emails are awkward but perfectly acceptable. I think I have built an amazing network of professionals and friends. No matter what, I am never hesitant to reaching out to them. I've sent probably a hundred cold emails and made over fifty cold calls in my life (remember that I'm 23), each less awkward than the one before. I know if seems painful to do or think about, but it will pay off. You will make the right connection that knows about the one position in the one field that you want. It'll happen, just give it time, be extensive in reaching out, and don't be afraid! Cold emails are always easier than cold calls, but once you do one or two, you will build your confidence and be able to do many more. Like taking off a band-aid, you just have to do it. Trust me. 

• Market your unique perspective and high level skills. Do not downplay your experiences. Whether they are related to college groups you were in to the extra assignment you took on in your last job, the work you completed gave you a certain perspective and strengthened some of your core leadership skills. Market that. Get the message out there. Every interviewer is looking for a baseline of leadership ability either through observed actions at the interview or through your experiences--identify those from your past and keep them at the forefront of your communication to your network. 

Take it or leave it, these are very important things to keep in mind when starting a career for recent graduates or someone transitioning mid-life. Through this blog I'll be expanding on these topics and giving plenty of different perspectives on the issues. If you have specific questions or requests, send me a cold email or comment below. 

Secrets to be Successful

This is it. My secrets to be successful. If you follow these four rules, you'll be the next Bill Gates, the next billionaire, the next leader in your industry. Now if you believe me, maybe you should get off the computer, take a deep breath, and get some champagne to celebrate your future wealth and success. For you that don't believe that following these four rules will make you the next billionaire, congratulations because you (most probably) are thinking correctly.

Everyone defines success in their own way--making $$$, the title, vacation houses in Tahiti, having a huge family, etc. I define success as having completed what you want to have completed. Broad and generic, I know. I have always followed these four rules that I think capture the essence of success in your career (think of them more as guidelines if you aren't a rule person). Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Have fun and smile.

• If you are going to your job everyday, dreading every minute, every second of the day believe me when I say that, that is not success. Although you think you may have to "pay your dues" to get to the level you want to be, you should be able to enjoy yourself when doing it. I'm not telling anyone to quit their jobs if they dread going into work, rather to find the small things in your job that you genuinely enjoy (if you can't find anything that you enjoy in your day job, you should start looking for a new job this second). You should be enjoying yourself in order to be successful, clear and simple. Also, a smile goes a LONG way, mentally for yourself as well as the way people view you. 

2. Be an action oriented person.

• Every leadership book or blog I've read have mentioned that successful people are so because they are do-ers. They get things done. You can plan all you want (I'm a big planner), you can talk the talk, but you need to be strong where the rubber meets the road, where things get done. Whether it be through influence or simply completing an action yourself, by physically doing something in your work, you can confidently state that you made a difference. What do you think looks better on a resume--1) Created proposal to increase first pass yield by 30% in the next 12 months, potentially saving $30,000 of rework costs per year, 2) Increased first pass yield by 30% in the next 12 months, saved $30,000 of rework costs per year. The answer: Number 2. Number 2 looks better on a resume. Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk. 

3. Learn something new everyday.

• This one is the most simple rule. If you come out of your day thinking, " I didn't learn anything" or, "That was a waste of a day", you are doing something wrong. You should always be learning, in failure or success, in boredom or excitement. 
• Something you could potentially learn today: only use bullets if you have more than one bullet, especially in a presentation. Apparently I can't apply my learnings. 

4. Networking is necessary.

• People are always afraid of the word networking. Networking, in its purest form, is being a people person. Being pleasant, approachable, and able to hold a genuine conversation. Any person you have ever met could potentially be the person that boosts your career to the next level. I know people that went in to an interview that didn't go well, but they got the job because the interviewer heard from the company's janitor that he/she was a nice person--no joke. You never know when someone you know can pull in a favor or two to help you out, but you should be open to do the same.  

So however you define success, you can be successful if you want to be. You need to apply yourself, follow some rules (or guidelines for you rebels), and enjoy.