Coaching to Success

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Is it time to make a ‘Career Path Plan’?

So we take the first step on the career path and have a vague idea of where we are heading but how many of us created a ‘Career Path Plan’? Are we sticking to it? Have we discovered it’s not the path we expected or some pretty hefty unknown obstacles were thrown in the way?

Nothing is set in stone where so many external influences can affect the outcome, however, Benjamin Franklin was attributed to the saying “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail” and Winston Churchill came up with “Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”

So the simple answer is to plan ahead and learn from our mistakes!

Historically, career pathing was associated with the process used to chart a course within an organisation for a given career through self-development. The attributes involved in this were based around knowledge base, skills, character and experience. Once clarified, a path, whether promotion, laterally or transfer would be worked out. Now this can still be the case but with the onset of such diversity and uncertainty along with more people being self-employed compared to years gone by, we need to be honest with ourselves where career goals are actually at and whether we have the necessary attributes to reach it.

There is a lot more to creating one and reviewing it than can be written in this short blog but if nothing else, this will get you on the right path (excuse the pun) and Coaching to Success can help you with the details whether creating one for your team members or for yourself at a later time.

Much like travelling, you plot a route (or your SatNav does) and sometimes the obvious route is blocked but with some lateral thinking and change of course, you will eventually head back on track.

Here are some simple steps starting with the first and hardest element to start your course:

  • Ascertain what your desired job is. Sometimes this may not be apparent but give it some serious thought. If self-employed, where do you want your business to be within a given time-frame and what role will you play in it?
  • What jobs, departments, areas of businesses do you need to plot a course through to get there? Speak to your line manager, HR department or research others to find the most likely path that will let you achieve your goal.
  • What skills do you need to develop? What course of action do you need to take to obtain them? What channels of development are open to you and what experience do you require to achieve the objective?
  • Where can you get mentoring, supervision or coaching from to help you with this transition in your development?
  • Consider where you can obtain, or if there are career professionals you could turn to (even if researching the web, books, audio or video files – there’s plenty out there) to find focus.
  • OWN IT. This is Your career path, not somebody else’s and once realised, it gains body and momentum. By all means, welcome help given by others and search for a mentor/coach. Apply for those jobs and don’t get disheartened through lack of response but rather seek information to turn knockbacks into a learning exercise but always remember, this is yours and only you can drive it forward, no one else will care about it as much as you.
  • Let the decision makers know of your interest and intentions. Make it very clear to all who have the power/authority to help you get there know what your intentions are. Employees want to see who their next opportunities are within the organisation and showing off your plan makes it very clear. And don’t be afraid to ask for their assistance whether it be gaining more experience or increasing your knowledge or skill especially if looking to move laterally.
  • PUT IT IN WRITING. Then share it. Line managers, supervisors, family, friends, whoever will hold you accountable to reaching your objectives. Writing it down then insuring others are aware of it is an integral element to making it work.

If working within a large organisation, speak to HR or senior management to obtain knowledge of the following to incorporate within your plan. Then use this to plot your path:

  • Job descriptions (and locations)
  • Formal planning process (if applicable)
  • Application process
  • Competency levels
  • Learning/Training/Development courses pertaining to role
  • Shadowing and access to people currently doing the job
  • Access to mentor/coach
  • Lateral roles that are associated with you path or potential transfer opportunities

Coaching to Success believe in the power of the individual so whether you are the employer looking to help bring team members on or an individual looking to move up the career ladder, then take your first step to gaining clarity and contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk, where you will be assured a warm, friendly welcome and discuss what it is you wish to achieve.

Stand out and promote ‘Your Personal’ brand!

Understanding the importance of ‘Branding’ is crucial. Not just a logo but what it stands for. The stones in Coaching to Success are about taking steps (that get bigger and stronger) to reach your goal and will be found on all their correspondence.

On a personal level, look at your LinkedIn/Twitter/Facebook profiles. What IS your branding? Your recognisable trait?

Question… how do you want to be thought of when your name is brought up in conversation? Are you the go-to person, knowledgeable in your own field of expertise? The vivacious up-lifter or motivator? The studious completer? You will have a ‘brand’. Consider how promoting your personal brand will obtain a great ROI whether it be looking for a career, or standing out from others.

Now you have started thinking of yourself as a brand, how do we go about promoting it?

  • Study – Get to really know your industry or subject. Become the expert. Immerse yourself in all the latest updates as well as current matters. Sounds obvious but often people get to a level and stop!
  • Match taking with giving! Be a humble expert. Build working relationships with others where you can give equally as much as taking. Stephen Covey refers to this as Win:Win, an expression we have all heard, meaning to allow the other party to contribute which accordingly encourages them to speak favourably of you adding value to your brand.
  • Avoid camouflage – Be seen, refrain from hiding behind an office door or computer monitor. Attend networks and industry conferences. Open Social Media channels so others can see you and comment. Write features (like this) about your area of knowledge. Paint your picture for all to see and soon your style will stand out.
  • Align your brand with existing strong examples – This isn’t to say copy, but associate with established brands who emit similar beliefs to your own, e.g. “GoPro: Helps people capture and share their lives”, “Marriot Hotels: Quiet luxury. Crafted experiences. Intuitive service.” and how can you associate who you are to them?
  • Be charitable – Whether this means your time or finance. People remember selfless acts adding immense value in the eyes of others. There is no shame in marketing this on your social media or web sites either.

This is not only a start on a road of self-awareness allowing you to recognise how each of us have ‘branding’ but also understanding how you go about enhancing it. Once you truly get to know how people see you, you can then look to market the qualities you wish to be made more visible, enabling others who may not know you that well (or at all), to seek an association with you.

Coaching to Success know how to dig deep and help you extract what makes you stand out from others, to look for that USP. When you are ready to create your own Brand to compete with the best and stand out from the rest, contact Neil to discuss how he can help by emailing neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or 07761 187238.

And why not get a feel for this person’s branding style by checking out our short ‘interview’ video at https://youtu.be/RvCwOL4hPco

How do I create a knockout presentation? Prt 2of2…

So now it’s time to look at the remaining topics in order to create that amazing presentation.

  • Timing: Speaking too fast, rambling on
  • Neglecting to check equipment
  • Reading from notes
  • Reading from the slides/reciting bullet points
  • Failing to rehearse

Timing

Whether speaking too fast (thus finishing earlier than expected) or rambling on with too much un-necessary details (causing you to rush through parts of the presentation or having to go over time). This shows negative points about your capabilities from poor time-management, possible lack of confidence and disrespect to the organiser and/or delegates and this can be addressed by rehearsing.

Three key areas to successful are practice, Practice and PRACTICE and always do this out loud. Many years ago I rehearsed in my head and when it came to the delivery, my head and mouth didn’t seem to engage as they should have!

If you need to slow down through nerves, write ‘Slow Down’ on your note sheets or if you have too much to present in the allotted time, actually reduce the amount that goes into the presentation, honestly, it’s unlikely people will take everything in so portray the more important elements.

Equipment check

I experienced this once when at an event and the projection system didn’t immediately connect with my laptop. Fortunately it was down to some settings was resolved. Nonetheless, even though turning up 20 minutes early, it still resulted in people waiting 10 minutes before we started which kills the mood to begin with.

Make sure you put your presentation together before the event. Check all handouts are sorted and put into order. Any equipment you are using works correctly.

Arrive half an hour before the scheduled time and check it all works correctly. If all’s fine, then spend some time to relax and speak to people as they turn up. All this relays a level of confidence for the delegates.

Note reading

As mentioned before, spend time practising before the event so you are familiar with the content, its order and timing.

If needs be, use a few bullet points but the more you rehearse, the more familiar you become with the presentation and even if you do not know it verbatim, you’ll still come across more professional and knowledgeable.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that some people just have it. Everyone that comes across proficient and slick have rehearsed and practiced over and over.

Bullet Point reading

I will assume that the people you are presenting to can read. Therefore, be respectful and don’t read the bullet points aloud.

Remember, these headliners for what you wish to present. Treat them as such. Bring up the bullet point and, without reading it, go on to make your point and the observers can read it for themselves. If they are all up, go into your speech and allow them to work out what element you are talking about.

Rehearse

This has been mentioned throughout so best to understand its importance. It REALLY does make all the difference to your presentation. And do this out loud, even in front of a mirror so you can see what those in front of you see. All too often, rehearsing in your head is different from practising speaking out loud, trust me on this!

Energetic finish

All too often the energy is central to the presentation and the wrap up is just that. This is your opportunity to re-visit what you’ve already presented in a draft but uplifting format and if you have a little diamond up your sleeve, bring it out to shine here thus leaving the audience inspired and uplifted.

Oh, before I forget, one last little tip … Question Time! Decide in advance WHEN you want questions to be asked. Either set these at set intervals throughout the presentation or ask the delegates to save them until the end (not always practical as the flow has gone by then for them). If allowing questions at any time, insure you manage these as questions raised may well stimulate others to get involved which could potentially throw timing out of the window!

That’s all 9 areas covered but nonetheless, presentations are not easy, especially if relatively new to doing them or not generating the desired results. Should you be looking to put together an amazing presentation and looking for support, you would do well by contacting Neil at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238 where you are assured a warm welcome.

How do I create a knockout presentation? Prt 1of2…

Have you ever been in front of monotone, boring presentations that seem endless? Do you need to create a presentation but are unsure how to wrap it up?

This is too big a subject to do in a single post so here’s todays and the next will be in two weeks’ time. Read on to find some tips I’ve learned over the years that will help keep the interest and get the message across.

Let us start by looking at 4 of 9 bad habits:

  • Failing to excite or show enthusiasm!
  • Disqualifying yourself
  • Not connecting with the audience. Avoiding eye contact, Alienating yourself
  • Stance: Fidgeting, swaying, motionless or standing to attention

Failing to enthuse

From the start you need to engage and capture your audience’s attention. First impressions and last comments are what people remember. Deliver a message that will leave them excited about what they are about to be told and the benefits they will gain.

Disqualifying yourself

You are there because you are knowledgeable in that particular subject. The audience have come to learn something so avoid statements like “I hope this doesn’t send you asleep”, “I know something of this but I’m not an expert in”. Avoid disparaging comments. Believe in yourself.

DO NOT APOLOGIES! You may start late due to unforeseen circumstances so this may seem a bit blunt but if you start off apologising then this sets a negative tone and sets the scene of being a victim. Start off as if nothing was wrong, thus illustrating you work well under pressure.

Audience connection

Personally, I feel one of the worse things a presenter can do is to stand there avoiding eye-contact with attendees. Fumbling around, looking at projections or even the wall behind the attendees. And whatever you do, please don’t turn your back to the audience. This may make you feel better but you’ve just dismissed everyone there.

If you’re not keen on looking at people directly in the eyes, look at their foreheads or, better still, the top of their lips. Try that one out when speaking to someone relatively close. Ask them if they felt you were making direct eye-contact, it works!

Other areas to consider is to insure you don’t alienate delegates. I was at a seminar a while ago and the presenter opened by saying “This is going to be mainly about the leisure industry so if you are not in this business, you won’t understand some of the terminology…”.

Make sure you use a language that all understand. Make it generic if dealing with a varied audience or specific if an isolated audience.

Stance

There is a fine balance between no movement and too much. Areas to consider are to avoid shuffling paperwork or waving something around you wish to talk about. Everyone’s focus then moves to that and not you.

Try not to fidget or sway on the spot and definitely (gentlemen!) avoid playing with change in your pockets. These infer nervousness.

And don’t stand still like a guard, move around and use ‘controlled’ hand gestures (this is an area I have to constantly be on top of as I enthuse and speak through hand movements). It’s very boring if you just stand there motionless.

Look at for the concluding part in two weeks’ time and in the meantime, should you have a presentation that you need help with, just make a call or throw us an email.

Contact Neil at neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238 where you are assured a warm welcome.

CVs … How to WRITE them and how to READ them!

Having often been engaged to assist with the selection process, it baffles me to see how people write and present their CVs. Bluster and bravado can often sway the reader with little supporting evidence!

Consequently I thought I’d write this feature on putting a CV together and in the same vain, how to read them.

To begin, consider it from the employer’s point of view, write in the sense of ‘You’ rather than the ‘I’. They have a situation they need resolved so spouting on about how marvellous YOU are is not going to win them over! Sell yourself by showing how you can remove the problems. Insure your cover letter and CV also flows in the same consistent manner.

Another area all too frequently missed is Evidence Based examples. It’s all very well stating you created a stock system that reduced purchases but what effect did this have? Adding “Subsequent profits increased by 6.7% as a result” substantiates organisational benefits.

HAVE MORE THAN ONE CV! I can’t believe how many CVs I’ve read that have no bearing on the job! Someone working as a Technician applying for an Office Administrators role is fine but don’t preach about the technical things you studied under a microscope when filing or sourcing material is what is required.

Look for examples in your current and previous roles that support your application and mention them throughout your employment history and professional summary (to follow). You may be looking for a more technical role/person, again, the CV should illustrate throughout examples of what you have done that supports your application

Here are 8 Top Tips which will be written in the context of someone applying for a post. Those looking to employ should equally consider the importance to see if they have applied themselves or if it’s just a case of throwing out CVs!

  • Contact Details – Centred at the top of your CV, name first in Bold to stand out, then your address and contact details such as mobile, telephone, email and web site if you have one.
  • Professional Summary – This is where you sell yourself! Keep it brief encouraging the need to read all of the CV. Tailored for the post advertised, check what the criteria normally is for these positions. Summarise how the organisation will benefit from taking you on.
  • Achievement – Create a library of as many achievements you have done throughout life/career then select two or three from this list that are pertinent to the role and place them in your CV.
  • Employment History – It’s critical to insure there is ‘Evidence Based’ material. Do not list out what you did in a job, that’s no different from a job description! Prove you can do it by adding a few words on the end showing HOW the employer benefitted and start with your most recent post at the top.
  • Courses/Skills – Bullet pointed as they back up what has been mentioned earlier. Add in other skillsets that will help in a given role. Ie, if administrative, words per minute typed. If rural area, passed driving licence etc
  • Education – For Secondary & College results, list as such with grade achieved. For University Degrees, include a succinct outline of skills developed that are relevant to this role.
  • Interests – Do NOT simply put down you like reading, going to the cinema, socialising with friends or the like…boring! This is about YOU, expand, ie “I like Mystery/Crime novels, favourite being Lincoln Rhymes series by Jeffery Deaver”, “Playing 5-aside football every Thursday”, “Experiment badly in the kitchen with Italian cuisine” etc
  • References – Put two references, avoiding ‘Available on request’! This shows your answers are open and happy to be checked. Include Name, Job title, Company name, Address, Telephone number and email. Attempt to put down someone in your existing role but stipulate “Do not contact until after a job offer has been made”.

Run through a spell check and read through twice. Ask someone else to read as they will read it differently than you.

If reading as an employer, grab a highlighter pen and detach yourself emotionally. As you go through, highlight areas you wish them to expand upon or requiring clarity. A red pen is a great tool to make notes too!

Copied and pasted CVs show no real effort put in and you know what, they are disregarded straight away. It is difficult and very time consuming to read through all the different jobs, having to write different CVs for each and every one, however, if you’re smart, you’ll create two or three CV templates that are suited to the prevalent roles and have a library of achievements that will be pertinent to certain positions that you can then create bespoke CVs.

Coaching to Success specialise in Career Coaching whether it be employers looking to recruit or individuals seeking employment, for further information, contact Neil directly on 07761 187238 or email neil.nutburn@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to have a confidential discussion or meeting to see how we can help you find that right job or employee.