Written by: Connie Huber PHR SHRM-CP
MAKING YOUR MARK IN LIFE or JUST LIVING YOUR LIFE
When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is
and your life is just to live your life and try not to bash into the walls too much…
that’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact- -everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no
smarter than you-shake off this erroneous notion that life is there and you’re just going to live in it versus make you mark upon it. Once you learn that, you will never be the same again.”
Steve Jobs, 1995 Interview Santa Clara Historical Association
Keynote
Michael S. Seaver, @MichaelSSeaver
As noted in Steve Job’s quote, we have a choice in living our lives. We have a choice to live our life and try to not bash into walls much or make our mark in life. If you elect to do the latter then it is essential to develop and live your personal brand. Michael had several objectives for his time with the group.
• Why branding is important
• Developing your personal brand
• Face-to-face
• Online
WHY BRANDING IS IMPORTANT
In his TED presentation psychiatrist, Robert Waldinger, shares three important lessons learned from the study on what makes a good life? The findings emphasize that the key to a happy life is based on relationships. Happy people broaden and develop their relationships.
Recently, Michael was involved in a workplace research for Robert Half on “Creating a Leadership Pipeline: Developing the Millennial Generation into Finance Leaders.” It is essential for organizations to establish the desired character traits sought for their leaders. The study showed that the same traits were found in all generations.
TOP 5 TRAITS….
1. Desire to be trusted.
2. Receive respect.
3. Want to learn.
4. Be coached.
5. Deep & meaningful relationships.
DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND
In developing your brand, you need to review your past, present and future.
• THE PAST
There are several questions one needs to ask to gain a strong overview on his/her values, interests and challenges. Some of those questions include:
Favorite childhood memory?
Most difficult experience in your life?
Eye opening experience traveling?
Favorite activity to do in your free time?
In reviewing your answers, you need to look for patterns of behavior and interest; identify challenges and define strengths.
• THE PRESENT
Your present is the transition that you are currently going through, establishing what your ideal employer and position looks like, and your strengths. Items to consider are top 3 professional interests, location of office, total rewards, daily tasks, responsibility level and growth potential.
• THE FUTURE
In defining your future, you need to decide your ideal life in 3 years. The criteria for the future is the same as the present with the following exceptions: vacations and travel; health and well being.
The next steps would be intention, ambition, value proposition and constraints.
INTENTION
Your intention is your “why”. You are establishing your personal mission/guiding statements. This should be a never changing purpose and why you exist.
AMBITION
Ambition is what you actually do. It is your personal vision. To fulfill your vision utilize S.M.A.R.T goals and include your desired future in 3-5 years.
VALUE PROPOSITION
Your value proposition is what makes you different and unique. Consider what makes you different, why clients choose you and what you can do that no one else can.
CONSTRAINTS
Constraints are those weaknesses that limit your performance. Rather than focusing on developing your weaknesses, you are encouraged to limit time fixing weaknesses and maximize time developing strengths. A recent Gallup survey found that 34.1% of the American workforce like their job, 18% are actively disengaged and 65% don’t like their job.
FACE-TO-FACE
Michael noted how color has both a major influence over human emotion and the power to elicit metaphors. Most brands have intentionally chosen colors that have specific resonance with their audience. As an example, wearing ‘blue’ suggests trust, smart, calm, faith, natural, stable and power. On the other hand, ‘red’ projects the emotions of love, immediacy, energy, sale, passion, anger and hunger.
Body language shapes who you are such as when feeling confident we tend to stand tall and walk with confidence. Amy Cuddy, social psychologist shares her insights and findings on the impact of body language on TED. Cuddy further explains body language and impressions in her book, “Presence”.
In demonstrating your brand face-to-face Michael encouraged us to focus our efforts on living our brand.
• Physical presence-color, verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Adjust your communication to the other person’s communication style.
• 3-5 times per week, meet new individuals.
Treat to coffee, tea, breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Buy gift cards, books, greeting cards, other small gifts.
Professional, alumni, philanthropic and faith-based organizations.
• Generate THICK value 3-to-1.
• Reflect on patterns of “yes” and “no”.
ONLINE
It is imperative in today’s job market to share your brand with your online
presence. Keys to success for an effective presentation include…
• Build your resume for LinkedIn.
• Enhance website, blog, e-newsletter.
• Develop a 90-day social media content plan.
• Deepen relationships with stakeholders.
• Connect organizations and people.
• Search your name monthly.
FINAL THOUGHTS
“BE THE PERSON YOU NEEDED WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER”
• Discover your “why”.
• Have autonomy, mastery, purpose.
• Believe that change is possible.
• Overcome your fears.
• Collaborate more effectively.
• Be engaged and productive professionally.
• Be involved in your community.
• Understand the opportunity costs of inaction.
• Communicate powerfully.
• Fill the strategy-execution gap.
• Feel accomplished.
• Efficiently manage your time.
• Generate THICK value.
SUGGESTED READING: “GRIT: The power of passion and perseverance” by Angela Duckworth
HIRING COMPANIES
HDR
Keri Dupey, HR Specialist
HDR specializes in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. The organization is located in 225 locations around the world with over 10,000 employees. HDR’s greatest investment is its employees. The company is committed to the professional development and success of its employees through a performance management model, various mentoring programs and HDR University.
HDR has a robust total rewards program. Some unique offerings include Wellness Incentive Program, Adoption Benefit, and Employee Stock Ownership. A sampling of current job opportunities includes Civil Engineers, Construction Inspectors, Project Architect, Resident Engineer and Health Director. To apply and to learn of further openings go to HDR’s website.
Arizona Department of Transportation
Brennan Atwood, HR Specialist
AZDOT’s mission is to provide a safe, efficient, cost effective transportation system. The culture is in a constant state of change, improving processes and efficiency each day. The state is looking for individuals experienced in lean and is interested in those candidates that have Six Sigma or other lean training. The agency conducts behavioral based interviews for all positions. The state provides an excellent comprehensive benefits package. Go to AZ state website to view latest job openings and to apply.
Freedom Financial Network
Linda Lumen, VP HR
Freedom was launched in 2002 by Stanford classmates, Bradford Stroh and Andrew Houser. Freedom’s mission is to provide financial solutions, services and education enabling consumers to resolve their debt and achieve financial freedom. The organization has 980 employees with locations in San Mateo, California and Phoenix, Arizona. San Mateo is host to the company headquarters. Freedom has received numerous accolades including Phoenix Business Journal’s #13 Best Places to Work.
Currently there are 100 openings at the Phoenix location, which is expanding very quickly to reach 1,200 employees. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, 401K, Life, LT disability, vacation, paid holidays and volunteer activities, employee discounts, and recognition. Top career opportunities include Account Executive, Compliance Analyst, Product Managers and Sr. Software Engineer PMD. If interested, apply here.
Revana/Teletech
Mary Ann Lopez, Recruiter
Revana is a professional inside sales organization and recognized leader in outsourced sales and marketing solutions for industry leading clients, generating over $5B in annual client revenue. Revana has over 1,500 employees in their Tempe and Phoenix locations. The organization provides revenue-generating solutions such as professional inside sales, account management, integrated marketing and electronic direct marketing. Revana has won numerous awards and has been recognized by other leading industry professionals for its outstanding sales performance. The organization provides a number of benefits after 30 days of employment such as paid training, competitive base salary with commissions, career advancement, flexible work schedules and medical and dental benefits. A sampling of current opportunities includes Inbound Sales Associate, Outbound Sales Associate, and Sales Manager. For immediate consideration visit16610nN Black Canyon Hwy, Ste 110, Phoenix, AZ 85284, Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm. Apply here to complete an online application and assessment.
Resources
City of Phoenix
Waleed Alani, Employment Specialist
Waleed shared with the group the latest unemployment statistics and noted there is currently a healthy job market. At the moment, there are approximately 81,000 available jobs in the Phoenix area. September is projected to be robust in employment opportunities. Openings include retail, hotel management, project management and nurses. Some of the top skills being requested are bilingual, quality assurance, IT networking, quality control and IT networking project management. A sampling of hiring employers include Banner Health, Honor Health, CVS Health, Dignity Health, Pizza Hut, United Healthcare, Bank of America, Well Fargo and Oracle.
Waleed highlighted the different skill development packages offered by the City of Phoenix. Those include Seminars available to the public; Level 1 Package-Skills Match the Job Market; and Level 2 Package-Research Pathways to Higher Wages. Seminars include: Arizona Job Connection (AJC), How to Create a Winning Resume, Perfecting Your Interviewing Skills, Mock Interview Lab, Understanding LinkedIn, Leveraging LinkedIn, 21st Century Job Search Seminar, and Job Clubs. The 3-day sessions are focused on ways to jumpstart your job search. Topics discussed are Social Skills, Creating and Implementing a Job Search Plan, Interviewing, and Long Term Career Management. The 3-hour session emphasizes Employability. For more details on the Skills Development Packages, reach out to Waleed at 602-255-4628 or waleed.alani@phoenix.gov.
To see a schedule of upcoming workshops, visit Arizona@Work’s website.
New Horizons Learning Center
Zack Hiscock, VP Training
New Horizons has provided world-class training for over 30 years and over 30 million students. New Horizons recognizes that there are several learning styles and offers traditional, instructor led classroom training; online LIVE learning and online anytime learning. Learning tools are varied to meet the needs of students including hands-on labs, reference materials, practice exams, learning guides, coursework and exam preparation.
The Phoenix location is a new state-of-the-art training facility. Information Technology programs, Office Management and/or Healthcare Records Management programs, and Project/Production Management programs represent education offerings. Some of the items included in tuition are books & supplies, labs, on-going career services and 6-month re-sit option. New Horizons does provide Job Placement Assistance. The school offers top IT Certifications approved by the GI Bill. Additional funding sources are available up to $4K through the WIOA Program. New Horizons has free classes in Microsoft Office, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Visit New Horizons online.
Closing
Jessica Pierce, Executive Director, Career Connectors, closed the meeting by thanking North Phoenix Baptist Church and the volunteers. The next Career Connectors meeting will be in Scottsdale on Thursday, August 11, 2016 and features Cristi B. McMurdie as speaker for the topic “Why Know Your Why”. For additional information on this event and future events, please visit the website.
