Friday, April 2, 2010

More to Work Than Meets the Eye

Greetings Job Seekers and Employers,

     I woke up this morning feeling wonderful as I started my car and drove to my office in downtown Midland, TX.  I love what I do. The opportunity to assist people and their families is a responsibility that I take seriously.  Speaking of Responsibility I wanted to share something with you, my readers.
     I spoke with a gentlemen by the name of...well on second thought let's call him Gaylord yesterday in my office. Gaylord was caught in a job that seemed to suck the life out of him. He had stumbled upon us on the net, and wanted my help with a resume. We sat, chatted, and then he left with three things. I want to share those three action steps with you as well.
  1. Create a LinkeIn profile if you don't already have one.
  2. Read Dan Miller's 48 Days to the Work You Love
  3. Don't get a job based on today's results.
     Creating a Linkedin account  is a great place to make future connections. From here one can network and join groups to open doors. This is also a fantastic place to pour into other people. Zig Zigglar says something to the effect of, "You can get everything you want in life, if you will help enough people get what they want."
     Dan Miller's 48 Days will open mental doors that seemed shut and help you to step out into your destiny. I originally heard of him while listening to the Dave Ramsey Show. I find that doing the same thing everyday gets you the same results. If we want to do something more than what we are currently doing, we have to introduce change. In 48 days Mr Miller gets us thinking outside of the current circumstances many of us find our self trapped in. We are removed from our all encompassing situation and realize that our world (our thoughts) are the size of a duck pond and less than 100 yards away is an ocean. Many of us don't realize that what we are seeking is within our current sight. I like his approach in finding your "Fun". Enough said...read this book.
    Finally, there is a  generation of people who are trying to change jobs based on where they are today. By this I mean, they take their thoughts and concepts within the confounds of the job they have  today and try to change the "doing" aspect of their life hoping for better results. I find this interesting when we are called human "Beings". If we are not satisfied "Being" then changing the "Doing" or work aspect of our life is not going to provide for the long haul. We essentially put a band-aide on the boo boo, and during the first emotional, financial, or circumstantial storm that pours in, we are knocked down on our rears. We have to start with the end in mind, but with the skills we have today.
     I will close with this: We were created to work. Let's work out of who we are today and not where vain imaginations would have us be. It is impossible to be grateful and be filled with hopelessness or anger at the same time. So as my friend Phil says, "Do the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons."
You Can Do It -and We Will Help!

Warmest Regards,

Christian
President of C2C 
Http://www.coast2coastCAREERS.com

Saturday, March 20, 2010

3 Steps to Ace the Interview or Sales Presentation!

    There are two questions that will help you know the “Key” to communicating during your job interview or sales presentation. It is important that you practice incorporating the “Key” words in your interview. Remember: Perfect Practice makes Perfect. These will can help you, but also realize some people will integrate two of the elemental “Key Words” in an interview.
Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Draw a square on the paper with a cross in it. If this was now a compass write “Direct” on the North side followed by “Indirect” on the south side. On the left of the paper write “Closed” and on the right “Open”.

Step One: When you sit down explain that you would like to start with an icebreaker to help you get to know them better. Ask them, “When you are around your close friends and family are you generally more direct or indirect with your words and thoughts?”

Step Two: Thank them for their response and circle it appropriately with a smile. Now say, “The second question is like the first: Again, when you are around your friends and family are you generally more open or closed with your thoughts, gestures, and feelings?” You will circle their response.

Step Three: Interpret the results and under each interviewers/prospect name write their “key” word. They will be one of four elements; each is associated with a “key” word.

Fire- is Direct & Closed (CEO’s, Generals, Presidents)
            -Key Word is “Time & Money”
            -Description: They are interested in how you will save them Time & Money.
IE- I am your guy/gal and I’ll accomplish it faster and more efficiently

Wind- is Direct & Open (Sales professionals)
            -Key Word is “Fun & Close the Door”
            -Description: They love to have fun, talk, and are impulsive.
IE- Let them talk about something fun, they over commit, so close every option to hire anyone else besides you.

Earth- is Indirect & Closed (Engineers, Analytical, Number Guys/Gals)
            -Key Word is “Right”
            -Description: They are always right! Argue with their being right and you lose.
IE- Tell them they are right often and if you disagree find something they are right on and say, “You are absolutely right this operation takes this much time. You know what else is right, that when I did the operation we did it in this time frame and bring evidence for them to research.” Only use this if you can say it softly and gently or it will be construed the wrong way. Approximately 35% of all sales and interviews are lost here.

Water- is Indirect & Open (Teachers, Counselors, Nurses)
            -Key Word is “Permission”
            -Description: These are the soft-spoken people who don’t have an opinion.
IE- They are easy to walk over and make you feel like you are getting somewhere when you really are not by using verbal vomit. They won’t express it… you just will not ever get hired, called back, or make the sale. Always ask to proceed further. “ Would it be okay if I asked about this or that?” Would you feel comfortable telling me about this or that” That’s it! We at http://coast2coastcareers.com/wish you the best of luck.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The Next Evolution

Greetings,
 
As I have watched the market and the trends, it is clear that the market is ever shifting. Long gone are the days of, post a resume with a catchy title, sit back and relax. I read the experts opinions on the best resume and whether it is chronological, or generic. Who cares! I mean really, what the unemployed want is a job. When Countrywide did their massive layoff and I found myself unemployed, I wanted help. I thought to my self, "If I could just get an interview, I know I could get the jobs I applied for." The idea for coast2coast careers began to blossom.

My first experiment was opening my own Facebook.com account and seeing how many friends I could have in 7 days. I ended up with over 500. This reiterated to me that social media was the wave and that to surf this one from coast to coast, I would need a board of technology. So we worked on it, and brought social media to the job board. Now every person has the opportunity for the first interview. It is no longer font or a catchy phrase that determines success... it is you. You get the opportunity to give employers access to who you really are.


I also discovered that when recruiting, employers would spend hours searching potential employees social media sites. Yes, they look at your facebook.com and myspace.com. They want to know that what is presented on the resume is the truth. They look at pictures to get a glimpse of your character, integrity, and honesty. Coast2coastcareers saves employers time by allowing YOU to put your social media links in one spot so that employers can view it.

In addition, job searchers will now have the opportunity to post a 60 second response to every employer's top three questions. You don't have to worry about getting tongue tied or nervous and can show your real skills. This excites me and I have to blog about it. I have been laid off several times and have had to sell myself to several totally different industries. Now, I have created a free way to help future and present job seekers get the edge in the job search world.

The next evolution of the job search is on our site. I hope you enjoy the process and that it provides some help and hope in your journey to your dream career.

Monday, March 1, 2010

PRE LAUNCH

Dear Readers,

I am very excited about our website and iphone application launch on March 22nd. T-minus 3 weeks and counting. It has been quite the journey as we have prepared, planned, raised money, and cast vision. I look forward to this year and the path I see laid out for us. I am really hoping that people enjoy what we have done and that whether they are visiting, or buying our products that they will feel valued. My hope is that our tag line, "where people meet opportunity" is fully realized. Please feel free to follow our Pre-Launch on twitter at https://twitter.com/c2ccareers

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