Courage, Entrepreneurship, The Job Search

Courage, Entrepreneurship, The Job Search One of the benefits of spammers commenting on old blog posts is they bring the old blog post back to my attention.  Such is the case when a spammer left a comment on this post: Courage and the entrepreneur. I wrote this post in May of 2009 JibberJobber was barely three years old. As I read this it reminds me of the feelings of despair and anxiety while much of my world thought I was killing it in my business.  Ill be the first to tell you that starting a business, while a great learning experience, is really, really, really hard.  On many levels: financially, personal relationships, sanity, etc.  Heres my post from six years ago not much has changed. Sometimes I think I’m nuts.  Even though I’m more sane than others.   But seriously, what am I thinking, doing my own business? Where’s the safety net in that?? Sometimes I think I’m dense.  Even though I got a hecka lot of education, and feel like I’m rather witty.   This “dense” thing comes mostly when I compare myself to others. Sometimes I’m lonely.  Even though I have a terrific wife and family support, and thousands upon thousands of people who read my stuff in my blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.   But when I’m sitting in my office, all by myself, with hours to go in the day, wondering which thing I should do next, I wish I had a team working with me. Sometimes I feel poor.  Especially recently as we paid for a new baby, a broken van and car, my doctor’s visit to get my calf looked at, working on getting our basement finished, and payroll… but then I think about the families I met in Mexico who know what poor, and poverty, and hunger, are, in a way that i’ll never have to know. Usually I’m hungry.  Not for food, but for success.   Actually, not even crazy-wild success, just the kind of success that pays the bills for a family with a modest lifestyle.   That’s what i told my publisher, and why I swore I’d make money from book sales. Most of the times I’m scared.  Scared of failing.   Or scared to take steps backwards.   I often wonder if I’m the right guy for the job, and then I just get back to work, day after day, to get the job done the best I can, and hope that indeed, I could be the right guy for this job. I’m an entrepreneur. I feel privileged, and hope that I don’t mess this up. I feel like this is bigger than me… much bigger than me. I feel like thousands of people need me to keep on plugging along, as my stuff (whether it’s JibberJobber or my books or DVD or blogs whatever) are making a difference to them. I feel like my future is in MY hands.  Not the CEO of Enron, or some board of directors, or some cranky boss… but my own hands.   Please let me not screw this up. I’m an entrepreneur. While it isn’t easy, it’s rewarding.   I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Check out the great comments from back then. Courage, Entrepreneurship, The Job Search One of the benefits of spammers commenting on old blog posts is they bring the old blog post back to my attention.  Such is the case when a spammer left a comment on this post: Courage and the entrepreneur. I wrote this post in May of 2009 JibberJobber was barely three years old. As I read this it reminds me of the feelings of despair and anxiety while much of my world thought I was killing it in my business.  Ill be the first to tell you that starting a business, while a great learning experience, is really, really, really hard.  On many levels: financially, personal relationships, sanity, etc.  Heres my post from six years ago not much has changed. Sometimes I think I’m nuts.  Even though I’m more sane than others.   But seriously, what am I thinking, doing my own business? Where’s the safety net in that?? Sometimes I think I’m dense.  Even though I got a hecka lot of education, and feel like I’m rather witty.   This “dense” thing comes mostly when I compare myself to others. Sometimes I’m lonely.  Even though I have a terrific wife and family support, and thousands upon thousands of people who read my stuff in my blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.   But when I’m sitting in my office, all by myself, with hours to go in the day, wondering which thing I should do next, I wish I had a team working with me. Sometimes I feel poor.  Especially recently as we paid for a new baby, a broken van and car, my doctor’s visit to get my calf looked at, working on getting our basement finished, and payroll… but then I think about the families I met in Mexico who know what poor, and poverty, and hunger, are, in a way that i’ll never have to know. Usually I’m hungry.  Not for food, but for success.   Actually, not even crazy-wild success, just the kind of success that pays the bills for a family with a modest lifestyle.   That’s what i told my publisher, and why I swore I’d make money from book sales. Most of the times I’m scared.  Scared of failing.   Or scared to take steps backwards.   I often wonder if I’m the right guy for the job, and then I just get back to work, day after day, to get the job done the best I can, and hope that indeed, I could be the right guy for this job. I’m an entrepreneur. I feel privileged, and hope that I don’t mess this up. I feel like this is bigger than me… much bigger than me. I feel like thousands of people need me to keep on plugging along, as my stuff (whether it’s JibberJobber or my books or DVD or blogs whatever) are making a difference to them. I feel like my future is in MY hands.  Not the CEO of Enron, or some board of directors, or some cranky boss… but my own hands.   Please let me not screw this up. I’m an entrepreneur. While it isn’t easy, it’s rewarding.   I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Check out the great comments from back then.

5 Good Ways NOT to Network

5 Good Ways NOT to Network I went to this networking event a few weeks ago featuring a good speaker named Andy Lopata. I hadn’t actually heard of him before but apparently he’s known as Mr Networker for those in the know. I liked what he went on about as it seemed very aligned my own thinking. The points outlined below aren’t just a regurgitation of what I heard from this talk. The talk spurred me on to think about this topic and in this article is what is occurring to me now. Networking has been quite a ‘hot’ topic recently and seems to be the ‘thing to do’. Everyone is doing it! I thought that it might be useful to jot down a few learnings and observations of what feel like pretty common mistakes made when ‘networking’ or building connections: 1) Going to a networking event and selling: Ok, so when we ‘network’ â€"many of us have the underlying agenda where we are after something. Usually we want the people we meet to help us in some way. We are after a promotion, a new job, some insight and inspiration on what to do next and so on. We would like the people we meet to help us in our career and lives. This is fair enough however, going to a networking event and spending all of your time trying to ‘sell’ yourself or whatever your company offers isn’t particularly useful. How many people are there to ‘buy’? None right? So don’t sell! Go there to get to know the people around you. Don’t shove your life story or current major problem or need in their faces. They don’t know you yet so they aren’t going to help you if you just ‘sell sell sell’. No-one likes a salesperson â€" so don’t be one. 2) Collecting business cards: Networking is not about the number of contacts you have. Do you have 5000 Facebook contacts? 6000 LinkedIn connections? Maybe a couple million business cards and a few zillion email contacts? Is that good networking? Nope! Networking is not about collecting up the largest number of names you can get. That’s not going to help you. Maybe you have the biggest database of names and contacts in the world. However â€" that isn’t of any use to you unless these people are going to help you when you drop them a line. When push comes to shove and you ask them for help â€" what will happen? Will they remember you? Will they care? Or are you just another number in their database? Networking well and building up useful connections is all about really knowing the people in your network and them knowing you. People only want to help you if they know you, trust you, respect you. If you are just a number â€" you mean nothing. If they are just a number â€" what’s the point? 3) Not being genuine: Too many times have I seen people try to talk to me or get in contact with me simply to ‘network’. I get several invitations on LinkedIn each day from people wanting to ‘widen their network’. If I join their network â€" then what? Will we become good mates and help each other out? Do they know me? In some cases maybe there is something genuine there â€" but in most cases I’m thinking not. Now what about meeting and greeting people. Well if you’re being genuinely interested in getting to know the people around you â€" then you are more likely to build a useful connection and grow your network effectively. If you are simply building a network superficially so that you can call on them when you want something and you don’t really care about them as individual, unique, talented people â€" they’ll suss that out and not really like you for it. There was a guy I knew at Uni. He graduated, became a big banker, joined some hedge fund and went off and became a big ‘networker’. He rings you and contacts you if you are deemed ‘useful’ to him. That is seriously self-centred, superficial and â€" not genuine. Thus â€" can he contact me for help if he wanted it? Nope. He is not a part of my ‘network’ â€" because I don’t believe in that approach. So if you want to meet people and network â€" that’s absolutely fine â€" but do it authentically and genuinely. 4) Dismissing your existing network: We all have a network ready and waiting for us before we even start going out to ‘network’ and grow it. It’s a common occurrence to forget about the people who we already know. At school, university, through friends, family, extended family, friends of friends, work â€" through each of your jobs â€" you have met many very interesting and talented people â€" all of whom will have a different take on life and their careers. Their experiences and interests will be varied and vast. It can be very easy not to realize just how many people we really know or just how valuable our network actually is. Maybe you know or have come across many people but you do not really ‘know’ them. Why not spend some time getting to know them. Dig deeper. Find out what makes them tick â€" what experiences they have had, what they have done in their careers, who they hang out with, who their mates, family, friends are. You are closer to getting what you want and meeting whoever you need â€" than you think. Your mates brother, dad, second cousin, next door neighbour could be just the person who could help you. So â€" do not dismiss or forget about the people you already know. Get closer to the network you already have. Form deeper relationships with them and you never know who you may come across. 5) Give to get and remember it’s not all about you: People want to help those who help others. Or â€" people want to help those who help them! So if you just take, take, take â€" you won’t continue getting for long! Don’t make the mistake of just calling people up when you need something. Also don’t make the mistake of expecting those you ‘network’ with you give you whatever you want, when you want. It’s not all about you! If you spend all of your time with others â€" talking about what’s on your mind â€" what you need, what you’re after, how they can help you, what you care about â€" it’s a one sided, pretty boring story! It should be a 2-way thing. Offer to help wherever you can. Be genuine about it â€" and you never know what will evolve from that. Try it and see! If you offer up a useful contact and help someone out â€" they will be grateful, remember you for it and respect you. They will remember that you are a great person to know and that you can help each other out. There are other networking tips and tricks one could discuss and discover â€" however I think this covers a fair set of points to be aware of and consider for now. A few other bits to think about could be: How you articulate what you want when you ask your network for help â€" Are you clear about what you want? Are you specific when you talk to a contact about how they can help? Are you tailoring what you ask for according to each contact? How you present yourself and what you stand for to your network â€" What do people know you for? What do they think about you? Are you giving the right impression and do they know you for what you want to be known for? How you maintain your network and stay close to everyone â€" Are you keeping in contact with everyone? Do you know what Joe Bloggs is up to? Around refreshing and evaluating your network every so often i.e. old contacts you no longer speak to â€" is it worth keeping them as a ‘contact’ or not? Further reading: How To Build a Brilliant Professional Network in College. Author: Nisa Chitakasem is the founder of Position Ignition â€" a careers company dedicated to taking you to the next step in your career. Nisa is passionate about helping individuals find the right career path for them whether it involves finding a more rewarding career, making a career change, figuring out the right career plan or being creative about career directions.  For free advice, guidance and information on careers follow  @PosIgnition.  Image: Shutterstock.

What You Should Know Before Signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement

What You Should Know Before Signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement What You Should Know Before Signing a Non-Disclosure Agreement “Critical and confidential” â€" that’s how most companies label their proprietary data. After all, who’d want to lose their signature recipe to a competitor or see a key employer walking away with a list of clients? That’s why when you are applying for a certain job, an employer may ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). But before you grab that pen, here’s what you should know about NDAs. A Non-Disclosure Agreement defines what the employer considers to be “confidential” information and legally prevents you from disclosing it to others. NDAs can cover everything from formulas for products, to software systems for business operations, to inventions, to client lists, and more.Now, let’s dive into the matter a bit deeper. This post offers a quick FAQ to common NDA-related questions.Non-Disclosure Agreements vs. Non-Compete Agreements (NCA’s): What’s The Difference?While an NDA guards against disclosure of proprietary information, an NCA (Non-Compete Agreement) prevents an employee from leaving an organization and moving to a direct competitor, usually for a set period of time after they left.When Non-Disclosure Agreements are the NormNDAs are the “norm” in almost every industry these days. Given that there is a lot of competition across the board, companies want to protect what they believe is unique about themselves.However, most likely you’d be asked to sign an NDA if your job involves dealing with the following information:Customer and client listsProduct or service pricing structuresTrade secretsNew products or services (under development)Software systems that the company uses for its operationsVendor/supplier informationInformation related to a merger or an acquisitionSalaries of company employees.Lastly, NDAs have become ubiquitous with startups and large tech companies (though some argue that Silicon Valley has a bit of a NDA problem these days).The Typical Clauses in a Non-Disclosure AgreementDefinition of confide ntial information: What constitutes confidential information will vary widely depending upon the company, the parties involved, and the business itself. Regardless, the NDA should spell out exactly what the company considers to be confidential. If you do not understand any of the details, then speak up and get clarification.Exclusions from Confidentiality: that is data that is already publicly available or that the receiving party already has from someone or somewhere else.The term of the agreement specifies for how long the NDA will be in effect. For employees, this is usually for the entire time of their employment and for a specific time period beyond that. For third-party contractors, it might be different.Confidential information usage clause summarizes exactly how you are allowed to use the confidential company information.When disclosure might be required aka your legal right to “whistleblowing”.Return of information: When an employee leaves or when a contractor terminate s his work for a company, there will be a requirement about returning documents and/or information that may be housed on personal devices. If it is impossible to return or delete everything, then this clause will state that anything retained may not be used or revealed.Remedies for a breach spells out what the employer will do in case of an NDA breach.What Happens if You Break a Non-disclosure Agreement?As said NDA is a legal document. If you breach an NDA, you can wind up in court. If the NDA is “tight” and specific, and you have clearly violated it, the company does have a strong case against you and you may face fines.What Red Flags Should You Look for Before Signing an NDAUnlimited term agreements: If the term of an NDA is “forever,” then you need to ask some questions. For example, in the tech world, things change rapidly, and what may be confidential information today will not be tomorrow. Yet, you can be liable if you disclose information or data that is even now publ icly known.Too General: If the NDA is too general in terms of what cannot be disclosed, demand specificity and be wary. Sometimes NDA’s move into territories of Non-Compete, and these lines should not be crossed. If an NDA includes clauses that you may not use personal skills and training that you would use should you leave the organization, ask for that to be eliminated before you sign.Specific Consequences:   If an NDA provides very specific consequences for a breach â€" fines, for example â€" take a step back. A breach of an NDA is a legal situation and is up to courts to determine, including consequences. If you do agree to specific consequences, you are “locked in” if the court should side with the litigators.ConclusionNDA’s are common in many industries. Do not take them personally. Businesses need to protect themselves against data breaches and unfair competition.Under an NDA, you can certainly state that you accomplished something, you will be restricted from reveali ng the details of that accomplishment (all of the code you wrote, for example).Ultimately, the point of NDA’s should be fairness to both the company and to anyone who has access to confidential information. If you don’t see any red flags, then you are probably okay signing it. If you have questions, ask for explanations or get some legal advice. previous article Career (Con)Quest #11: Not a Lost Cause next article Career (Con)Quest #12: A Workhorse you might also like6 Online Gigs You Can Do During Coronavirus Outbreak (To Offset Your Lost Income)

What is a Train Conductor What Do They Do - Algrim.co

What is a Train Conductor What Do They Do - Algrim.co Train Conductors work aboard trains to coordinate the everyday activities of train crews. On freight trains, they also oversee the loading and unloading of cargo. Conductors work long hours and can choose to cover local and regional trains or work aboard trains that cover national routes. What Does a Train Conductor Do? A train conductor’s duties vary depending on whether they are aboard a passenger train or a cargo train. On passenger trains, a train conductor’s main function is to oversee the safe and orderly transport of passengers from one destination to another. This could be a short regional journey or a cross-country trek. They may also take payments from passengers, check ticket’s, announce stations as they are approached, and assist elderly or disabled passengers on and off the train as necessary. On cargo trains, a train conductor’s main function is to oversee the loading and unloading of cargo and to ensure all cargo is appropriately loaded and is accounted for upon departure and again upon arrival. They must make sure that the cargo and weight of the train is balanced distributed evenly along the length of the train. Train conductors also maintain communication between the train’s engineer, all traffic control personnel, and all other crew members aboard the train. They are responsible for monitoring for any equipment issues and mechanical problems and arranging repairs or emergency stops if required. How To Become a Train Conductor There is no educational prerequisite for becoming a Train Conductor, but you must have a high school diploma or the equivalent. To get started as a train conductor, you must first gain a position working for a railroad company. These positions include signal or brake operators, train dispatchers, rail car loader, track laborer, and more. After gaining familiarity with the logistics of a railyard and railroad industry, these positions are promoted to train conductor. Honing your interpersonal skills is key to becoming a train conductor if you plan on focusing your career on passenger trains as you’ll be working with the public every day and may have to manage some unruly passengers in your tenure as a train conductor. On-the-job training is essential for becoming a train conductor. You will work under the supervision of experienced conductors and may go through a formal training program as well. For career advancement, you can obtain certification from individual railroad employers. As a conductor, you must pass a background check, vision and hearing tests, performance and knowledge based tests, and must comply with all rules and regulations regarding drugs and alcohol consumption.

3 Technologies That Make Working From Anywhere Easy - Career Pivot

3 Technologies That Make Working From Anywhere Easy - Career Pivot 3 Technologies That Make Working From Anywhere Easy Copyright: sifotography / 123RF Stock Photo I have been exploring to see how easy it would be to move my business anywhere. As a solo-entrepreneur, my goal is to eventually have a location-independent business. Last week was my first experiment in working outside of the U.S. as an independent business. My wife and I just returned from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and I discovered that by using three different technologies I could be location-independent. Let me tell you about the technologies that made it so easy. Skype My wife and I arrived in San Miguel on Wednesday afternoon, March 1st. We had arranged to rent a one-bedroom unit through AirBnB. After we arrived I quickly connected to the Wifi because I was scheduled to be interviewed on the Criminal Justice Evolution podcast that evening. The Wifi connection was not great â€" but good enough. My wife and I went out to eat and returned home around 7:30 PM. I got out my Apple MacBook Pro, attached my Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB microphone and I was ready to go.Patrick Fitzgibbonsinterviewed me for about 45-minutes and it proved to me that I could have been anywhere. Listen to the interview here and let me know what you think. Most podcasters use Skype for their interviews. It is free, mostly reliable, and the audio easily recorded. I use Piezo from RougeAmoebato record my podcast. When we explore Ecuador in May, I will get a U.S. phone number for my Skype account, and forward my Google voice telephone number (you will find that number at the top of this page) to my Skype account. That way I can use my Mac, iPhone, iPad or any other platform that has the Skype app. This was easy! DropBox/Google Drive I use DropBox and Google Drive to share files with my podcast vendor, PodFly Productions, my virtual assistant, my co-author, and anyone else I work with. While in San Miguel, I was able to edit a podcast recording, record the intro and outro, and share those files with my folks at PodFly. All I needed to do was copy them to a directory on my Mac, and automatically those files were replicated to the audio editor, and the show notes writer could access them. Listen to the most recent episode PodFly uses Google Drive for show notes. On Monday, I opened a Google Doc file and copied the show notes to my website. I have no idea where in the world the show notes editor or the person who proofreads the show notes works or lives. I could have been anywhere. It is so easy. Google Translate I used Google Translate for the very first time on this trip. WOW!!! I have been all over the world and I have a collection of foreign language dictionaries. Google translate will translate a text you type into the app. You can see some of the words I typed in like: exit small coffee (Yes, I went to a Starbucks) wow Onion soup Now if I wanted to translate theword “good”, I would see the translation of Bueno. The cool thing is if I click on the little speaker next to SPANISH, Google translate will pronounce the word or phrase. The next cool feature is if you tap the microphone and speak into the phone, Google Translate will give you a decent translation. Tuesday at lunch our waitress was trying to explain to us, in Spanish, about the dish my wife had ordered, a type of taco. She spoke no English and we were at a loss on what she was saying. I had her speak into Google Translate app and we learned that the tacos were wrapped in lettuce rather than tortillas. Boy! Was that easy! The last feature is using the camera. I found the following sign in the airport. I then displayed the same sign in Google Translate looking through the camera lens. The translation is not perfect but it sure helps! I used this on restaurant menus, traffic signs, package labels, etc., …. all with similar results. Conclusion Technology is making working from anywhere easy. All I need is a good Internet connection and I am good. Will this technology affect your job or career? Probably! Our next adventure will be going to Cuenca Ecuador in May. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Can You Convey Your Value Proposition in 16 Bars

Can You Convey Your Value Proposition in 16 Bars My 16 year old daughter went for her first Broadway audition this past weekend. The audition was standard for the theater worldan open cattle call and over a thousand people waiting for their turn. And what did the audition entail? 16 bars of one song. Thats itand then on to the next applicant. So in 16 bars an applicant needs to convey their ability to sing, act, move, and build rapport with an audience. 16 barsthats generally less than a minute. While corporate interviews arent that brief yet, the amount of time an applicant has to make an impression on a hiring manager is getting close to 16 bars. More and more hiring managers are reading resumes off of their Blackberries and finding potential talent in 140 characters or less on microblogging sites like Twitter. Resumes are being scanned and parsed and hiring authorities are Googling applicants to quickly discover what the page one results say about their brand. 16 bars is all anyone has time for anymore. What kind of song are you singing? By the way, my daughter made it past round one and is now on to the second phase of the audition processreading a monologueand you guessed itshe will have under a minute to do that as well!

Madison WI Resume Writing Services - Make Sure You Get the Best

Madison WI Resume Writing Services - Make Sure You Get the BestWe have found the best Madison WI resume writing services online. If you want to showcase your strengths and skills to the employers, it is essential that you highlight your talents in a professional manner. This will boost your confidence, help you in landing a higher paying job, increase your salary and hence, lead to a more satisfying life.Employers nowadays look for candidates with various resumes in order to select the best among them, in the hope of getting the best person for the position. If you lack an impressive CV, these resume writing services will do the job of writing an inspiring resume.The personal statement is the first page of your resume. In fact, this page is the most crucial one. You need to convince your reader by conveying to him or her the positive impression you give them about yourself and about your work. If you fail to make this page a success, it would have a great impact on your professional life.The Madison WI resume writing services offers various resume formats and resume template to choose from. They provide many options to fill the page in such a way that they match your writing style and best suite your personality.This section is very important and needs to be well structured in order to highlight your personal statement properly. Also, you need to highlight all your strengths and skills in such a way that it is easily noticeable to readers. Moreover, it is the page where you could convey your personality and expertise to the readers.Your resume needs to contain certain needs for employers. It is your basic duty to give enough information and you can get them from these services. There are many services available online and choosing the right one can take time. Hence, it is advisable to start with the most reputable one to get the best quality services.Our experience has shown us that resume writing can help you get in touch with various reasons of your past. The refore, you should make sure that the information you want to mention there has been recorded in the past and you can use it to enhance your future career.