Job Searching With Vocal Handicap #UserQuestions

Job Searching With Vocal Handicap #UserQuestions I got an interesting email from someone who has seen my Pluralsight courses he says: Ive completed a couple of your courses on Pluralsight and have found them to be most helpful. Having been with the same IT consulting firm for almost 19 years, Im doing a relatively late career networking/job search. Your courses (Build a Killer Brand, Career Management 2.0, Informational Interviews) have helped me jump-start a process that, frankly, has been difficult for me in the past. One reason for the difficulty is because I am vocally handicapped, the result of a work accident 24 years ago. Networking in a crowded, noisy room such as at a conference is just plain difficult. Presently, Im doing the informational interview thing and the one-on-ones are much easier than talking to someone at a large function. But I just cant easily walk up to someone and strike up a conversation when theres background noise. Im wondering if you have any tips for someone like me who cannot easily project his voice and, if I have to, tire very easily. What a great question. I imagine that Charles  feels unique, and at a disadvantage.  Heres what Ive learned: we all feel unique, and at a disadvantage.  Every single job seeker Ive met feels that way.   Well, not the ones who are Type A, and just starting their job search. But time has a way of wearing on you, and once you are at the third week, or the third month, you feel unique, and at a disadvantage. I dont say this to minimize Charles voice issues. Not at all. But I do want you (everyone) to know that everyone in this job search community feels inadequate, with challenges to overcome.  Well, maybe there are those who dont feel that way, but they are the weirdos :p Anyway, what is my recommendation for Charles?  Ive had a couple of days to think about this, and heres my advice: Dont worry about networking in groups. That seems to be the crux of the problem from his email.  He has this idea that you, as a job seeker, are supposed to go to network meetings and network. Well, thats true. You should. But lets redefine network meetings and network: Redefining network meetings The high impact network meetings  might be job clubs (or job ministries, depending on where you live), industry or professional luncheons, meetings sponsored by a company with a special speaker, conferences, etc.  These are places where there (a) are lots of people, and (b) is lots of background noise. You know who really has a hard time at these types of network meetings? Introverts. But a network meeting doesnt have to be a conference, event, etc. It could be much smaller, and more intimate. When I read Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi I realized that networking doesnt mean meet a ton of people at a place, shake a lot of hands, collect a lot of business cards, and have a lot of superficial conversations with people Ill probably not talk to again, even though there were promises like lets have lunch sometime!  Ah, sometime.  That time in the future that never happens. Redefining networking   What I learned from Ferrazzi is that networking doesnt have to be big-crowd and superficial. The goal, actually, is to start relationships and nurture relationships. For me, that happens one-on-one, and over time. I hated the idea of networking because I thought it was big crowd, pass business cards, smile a lot, ask them about themselves (a la How To Win Friends and Influence People), and maybe just maybe, have a second meeting in a more intimate environment. But Ferrazzi gave me permission to ignore the benefit of inefficiencies (that is, that you could get a bunch of connections in a large group) and rethink networking at a one-on-one exercise.  This realization was liberating. How does this apply to Charles?  Let me suggest that if being in a crowd where his voice isnt heard because he cant project is not fun, nor productive, that he goes with a different purpose. I almost wrote that he doesnt even go there, and do other networking stuff.  But really, if he can go to networking meetings and have face-time with people, he should. Having a physical presence is a good thing. But instead of thinking that you go to these big crowd networking events to talk to a lot of people, what if you went in with completely different goals? When I go to a network meeting now, my goal is to talk to at least one person. But it has to be the right person.  Let me give you an example a few years ago I went to a really big, really noisy networking event. It was where all of the Pluralsight authors (or, content producers like me) met, with a bunch of the Pluralsight staff.  The truth is, I have very little in common with the authors (except that we all spent a ton of time and energy making videos by ourselves so theres a camaraderie there), and really not much to talk about with the staff.  I was kind of a black sheep at Pluralsight, not offering technical training (which was their core), instead doing these weird courses on how to listen better soft skills as they called it, professional development as I would come to call it. So why go? Who do I talk with?  What is the reason to spend a couple of days out of my office and hang out with these guys? I had ONE meeting that changed everything. It changed my relationship with Pluralsight. It changed the courses I would work on. It changed my enthusiasm for where they were heading. The meeting was so impactful that I realized I needed to get home, finish what I was working on, and then totally change directions with the content I was proposing. That one meeting, with the right person, has impacted my work and my income every day for the last few years. Instead of trying to meet as many people as I could, and brand myself, and get X number of business cards over the weekend conference, I went in with ONE question, and I wanted to ask someone who was in a position to answer the question with real knowledge (not just assumptions). I found the person, asked the question, and the rest is history. One question, one person. How does this apply to Charles? Let me suggest that when you go to network meetings, you fully understand the purpose of going. It is not for the food, it is not to get out of the house, it is not to be seen it is to make the right one connection with the right one person.  If you make a great connection with more than one person, great! Bonus!! But dont fall into the trap that this is a numbers game and if you come back with less than ten business cards then you failed. Whats your one question?  Whos the right connection? If it were me, I would go in with the purpose of starting a relationship with someone who could help me move to the next level. I would probably try to eventually get an informational interview with that person, not then, but later, and then build that relationship. Or, get introductions from that person and have more informational interviews. This is networking. Finding and building relationships over time. Networking is not being in a crowded room, competing for talk time.  No matter what everyone tells you, you dont have to go to networking events to network. In fact, many of my JibberJobber users live in places where there arent appropriate network events they can go to. They might live in a town that doesnt have any, or a city that has none of their peers or colleagues. They might be in such a specialized niche that there are only a few hundred, or a few thousand, people they should network with. So what do they do?  Well, in the olden days (a few years ago) they would go to industry conferences. Expensive and time consuming, but great to meet the right people.  Today, a lot of what you need to do can be done online. While there are a number of sites to do this, LinkedIn is the 8,000 pound gorilla.  Theres really no compelling reason to go to another site, at least at the beginning of your online networking ventures. Heres what I suggest to Charles: (a) know what his questions are, and then (b) find the right people he should talk to about those questions. Find them on LinkedIn and reach out to them, and start the relationship. It might be just an email or message at first, but eventually he should get to the point where he is on the phone, face-to-face, or simply just having deeper and more frequent emails. That is networking. Nurturing relationships with regular communication. Its not strutting around a conference room like a peacock, showing off or acting extroverted its real, meaningful relationships. My guess is that Charles already knows this but if he was like me when I started my job search (and when I first started networking), I had assumptions of what was successful and what was failure. Staying home, unbathed and on the computer (Im talking about me, not Charles :)), was failure, especially when there was a networking event I should have gone to. Ferrazzis book, and learning about relationships, simply gave me permission to do what I already knew I should have been doing: finding and nurturing relationships, one-by-one. Deep down, I knew what to do, I just needed permission to not do what I thought job seekers did. If thats you, I give you permission to do what is right for you. If that is going to lots of meetings, great. But for many of you, its sitting behind your computer, using LinkedIn as a tool, finding the right people, and then starting your professional relationship with them. Job Searching With Vocal Handicap #UserQuestions I got an interesting email from someone who has seen my Pluralsight courses he says: Ive completed a couple of your courses on Pluralsight and have found them to be most helpful. Having been with the same IT consulting firm for almost 19 years, Im doing a relatively late career networking/job search. Your courses (Build a Killer Brand, Career Management 2.0, Informational Interviews) have helped me jump-start a process that, frankly, has been difficult for me in the past. One reason for the difficulty is because I am vocally handicapped, the result of a work accident 24 years ago. Networking in a crowded, noisy room such as at a conference is just plain difficult. Presently, Im doing the informational interview thing and the one-on-ones are much easier than talking to someone at a large function. But I just cant easily walk up to someone and strike up a conversation when theres background noise. Im wondering if you have any tips for someone like me who cannot easily project his voice and, if I have to, tire very easily. What a great question. I imagine that Charles  feels unique, and at a disadvantage.  Heres what Ive learned: we all feel unique, and at a disadvantage.  Every single job seeker Ive met feels that way.   Well, not the ones who are Type A, and just starting their job search. But time has a way of wearing on you, and once you are at the third week, or the third month, you feel unique, and at a disadvantage. I dont say this to minimize Charles voice issues. Not at all. But I do want you (everyone) to know that everyone in this job search community feels inadequate, with challenges to overcome.  Well, maybe there are those who dont feel that way, but they are the weirdos :p Anyway, what is my recommendation for Charles?  Ive had a couple of days to think about this, and heres my advice: Dont worry about networking in groups. That seems to be the crux of the problem from his email.  He has this idea that you, as a job seeker, are supposed to go to network meetings and network. Well, thats true. You should. But lets redefine network meetings and network: Redefining network meetings The high impact network meetings  might be job clubs (or job ministries, depending on where you live), industry or professional luncheons, meetings sponsored by a company with a special speaker, conferences, etc.  These are places where there (a) are lots of people, and (b) is lots of background noise. You know who really has a hard time at these types of network meetings? Introverts. But a network meeting doesnt have to be a conference, event, etc. It could be much smaller, and more intimate. When I read Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi I realized that networking doesnt mean meet a ton of people at a place, shake a lot of hands, collect a lot of business cards, and have a lot of superficial conversations with people Ill probably not talk to again, even though there were promises like lets have lunch sometime!  Ah, sometime.  That time in the future that never happens. Redefining networking   What I learned from Ferrazzi is that networking doesnt have to be big-crowd and superficial. The goal, actually, is to start relationships and nurture relationships. For me, that happens one-on-one, and over time. I hated the idea of networking because I thought it was big crowd, pass business cards, smile a lot, ask them about themselves (a la How To Win Friends and Influence People), and maybe just maybe, have a second meeting in a more intimate environment. But Ferrazzi gave me permission to ignore the benefit of inefficiencies (that is, that you could get a bunch of connections in a large group) and rethink networking at a one-on-one exercise.  This realization was liberating. How does this apply to Charles?  Let me suggest that if being in a crowd where his voice isnt heard because he cant project is not fun, nor productive, that he goes with a different purpose. I almost wrote that he doesnt even go there, and do other networking stuff.  But really, if he can go to networking meetings and have face-time with people, he should. Having a physical presence is a good thing. But instead of thinking that you go to these big crowd networking events to talk to a lot of people, what if you went in with completely different goals? When I go to a network meeting now, my goal is to talk to at least one person. But it has to be the right person.  Let me give you an example a few years ago I went to a really big, really noisy networking event. It was where all of the Pluralsight authors (or, content producers like me) met, with a bunch of the Pluralsight staff.  The truth is, I have very little in common with the authors (except that we all spent a ton of time and energy making videos by ourselves so theres a camaraderie there), and really not much to talk about with the staff.  I was kind of a black sheep at Pluralsight, not offering technical training (which was their core), instead doing these weird courses on how to listen better soft skills as they called it, professional development as I would come to call it. So why go? Who do I talk with?  What is the reason to spend a couple of days out of my office and hang out with these guys? I had ONE meeting that changed everything. It changed my relationship with Pluralsight. It changed the courses I would work on. It changed my enthusiasm for where they were heading. The meeting was so impactful that I realized I needed to get home, finish what I was working on, and then totally change directions with the content I was proposing. That one meeting, with the right person, has impacted my work and my income every day for the last few years. Instead of trying to meet as many people as I could, and brand myself, and get X number of business cards over the weekend conference, I went in with ONE question, and I wanted to ask someone who was in a position to answer the question with real knowledge (not just assumptions). I found the person, asked the question, and the rest is history. One question, one person. How does this apply to Charles? Let me suggest that when you go to network meetings, you fully understand the purpose of going. It is not for the food, it is not to get out of the house, it is not to be seen it is to make the right one connection with the right one person.  If you make a great connection with more than one person, great! Bonus!! But dont fall into the trap that this is a numbers game and if you come back with less than ten business cards then you failed. Whats your one question?  Whos the right connection? If it were me, I would go in with the purpose of starting a relationship with someone who could help me move to the next level. I would probably try to eventually get an informational interview with that person, not then, but later, and then build that relationship. Or, get introductions from that person and have more informational interviews. This is networking. Finding and building relationships over time. Networking is not being in a crowded room, competing for talk time.  No matter what everyone tells you, you dont have to go to networking events to network. In fact, many of my JibberJobber users live in places where there arent appropriate network events they can go to. They might live in a town that doesnt have any, or a city that has none of their peers or colleagues. They might be in such a specialized niche that there are only a few hundred, or a few thousand, people they should network with. So what do they do?  Well, in the olden days (a few years ago) they would go to industry conferences. Expensive and time consuming, but great to meet the right people.  Today, a lot of what you need to do can be done online. While there are a number of sites to do this, LinkedIn is the 8,000 pound gorilla.  Theres really no compelling reason to go to another site, at least at the beginning of your online networking ventures. Heres what I suggest to Charles: (a) know what his questions are, and then (b) find the right people he should talk to about those questions. Find them on LinkedIn and reach out to them, and start the relationship. It might be just an email or message at first, but eventually he should get to the point where he is on the phone, face-to-face, or simply just having deeper and more frequent emails. That is networking. Nurturing relationships with regular communication. Its not strutting around a conference room like a peacock, showing off or acting extroverted its real, meaningful relationships. My guess is that Charles already knows this but if he was like me when I started my job search (and when I first started networking), I had assumptions of what was successful and what was failure. Staying home, unbathed and on the computer (Im talking about me, not Charles :)), was failure, especially when there was a networking event I should have gone to. Ferrazzis book, and learning about relationships, simply gave me permission to do what I already knew I should have been doing: finding and nurturing relationships, one-by-one. Deep down, I knew what to do, I just needed permission to not do what I thought job seekers did. If thats you, I give you permission to do what is right for you. If that is going to lots of meetings, great. But for many of you, its sitting behind your computer, using LinkedIn as a tool, finding the right people, and then starting your professional relationship with them.

The Blank Page Is Just Half The Battle

The Blank Page Is Just Half The Battle Yes, it is true that everyone has a book in them, but getting that book out of your head and onto paper is a whole other battle. In short, writing a book is one of the toughest tasks anyone can do. Even if you are good with words, it is a matter of planning, determination, editing and patience. It can take years to perfect and, even then, you are not guaranteed to get a book deal. In fact, literary agents and publishers are taking fewer risks than they were twenty even ten years ago. The scope has narrowed to commercial literature and not a lot else. As such, many aspiring authors are turning to self-publishing, and why not. Even if youre not confident of your editorial skills, you can use services like  essayseek.com  for quality  editing services. But before you do. There are certain things you need to know, certain pieces of advice you need to adhere to. And here they are: Digital And Print There is no denying that ebooks are making a big impact on the way people soak up books, and so that should be your first option. The main ones are obvious:  the Amazon Kindle store and iTunes. But don’t stop there. Like marketing, you should use a strategy that integrates as many avenues as possible and, let’s be honest, a lot of people still prefer picking up an actual book. A lot of people. As such, you should take advantage of services such as CreateSpace, which will pay all the costs of printing and just take it out of the amount you get paid for each book. This also gives you access to a worldwide market. As such, it is just a matter of getting your book to stand out from the white noise. People Always Judge A Book By Its Cover It’s a fact, whether you like it or not. The phrase came about in an era where all books looked the same; they were leather-bound and had a title, that was it. But not anymore. As such, you need to make a book cover that will leap out and grab a person’s attention. You’ll want them to be stopped in their tracks and read the blurb and you’ll want the reader to be intrigued. You’ll want your cover to sell your story, whether it be a part of it, the genre, a character or even the place it is set. That doesn’t matter, just make sure it does the job it is meant to do. Market And Promote The reason why agents and publishers are worth their weight in gold is because they are experts in exposure. They deal with the marketing, the posters, the front-cover quotes and getting your book into stores. What’s more, they are your competition. So work on your online profile, join book clubs, see if you can get a celebrity to send a tweet about your book. That is William Hunter Howell did. He got his debut book in front of Stephen Fry, who not only read it and loved it but sent a tweet about it. This helped it become a Number 1 Best Seller on Amazon, and it was a book about bereavement. That’s hardly a sexy topic now, is it? . Image credits. Main.  Book.  

The Generation Game

The Generation Game We are, on average, living longer, and demographic changes will have implications in all areas of life. The aging workforce will soon become one of the main challenges facing organizations. What people want from work is broadly consistent across generations but some older workers may be much less likely to have had opportunities for training, development, and progression. Investment in skills and retraining can redress this imbalance, allowing older workers to reskill and progress in the workplace. Generational differences in the workplace and the successful management of a diverse body of employees have obvious business benefits. A failure to recognize and account for generational differences and values can cause problems with employee engagement and staff turnover which may lead to distrust, misunderstanding, and even hostility. People of all ages have recognized that they will need to work for longer. Generation X, in particular, face retirement largely without defined benefit pensions, facing more complex retirement decisions and finding it harder to build up assets. Better understanding Intergenerational work has been shown to have a range of benefits for participants. It can help individuals to express their identities, improve their wellbeing, to share a sense of reciprocity, and to develop a better understanding of each other and of community connectedness (Gaggioli et al. 2014). Good relationships, empathy, and perspective taking lead employees to be more supportive towards colleagues from different age groups. A key driver of supporting people to work for longer is to improve the quality of work. Improving employment practices for older workers will make the workplace better for everyone. Making work better for all workers will benefit individuals the economy and the state, now and into the future. Talent is at a premium, so anything an employer can do to make themselves attractive to the brightest and best of all ages is worth consideration. Job quality and role design can also help retain your best workers. Employers need to find innovative approaches to role design and use of technology to assist and support employees and enhance the employee experience. Flexible working Older employees are most likely to say that working part-time or flexible hours would encourage them to delay retirement but it’s also true that young workers may welcome flexibility to continue studying or bringing up small children. Workplace flexibility from the point of hire onward is crucial to help people manage work-life balance with personal and professional commitments. There is growing evidence of the benefits of flexible working in broadening the talent pool and improving staff satisfaction. Employees of all ages who are able to work flexibly are more likely to be positive about their job (NIESR, 2017). Research by the BITC suggests that by 2022, the UK economy will need to fill 14.5 million job vacancies created by people leaving the workforce and by new positions being created. It is estimated that there will only be seven million young people available to fill them â€" leaving a labor shortage of 7.7 million people. Career Conversations At 10Eighty we consistently urge the use of meaningful career conversations with all staff on a regular basis. Open and productive workplace conversations about future career planning benefit all parties. Failure to understand what engages and motivates staff prevents both workers and employers from planning for transitions, enabling agile and flexible working and adversely impacts succession planning and knowledge sharing. Real communication with staff of all ages, at all levels with allow organizations to reap the benefits of an age-inclusive workforce for workers, business and customers. ACAS point out that a cross-generational workforce can create a natural and positive dynamic where age and experience feed off one another.

Bots, Bugs, and Bad Guys How To Protect Yourself Online

Bots, Bugs, and Bad Guys How To Protect Yourself Online Imagine this: Youre about to head off shopping.   Before you go, you gather up all your personal information and visibly pin it to your clothing.   Yes, thats far fetched.   But thats essentially what youre doing if you shop, browse, engage in social media, or do personal business online. Every wireless network you join, each link that you click, every download you save holds the possibility that someone out there is targeting you. Those are the ominous words of online security expert Dr. Eric Cole.   And theres not a bit of exaggeration in them.   More than ever, you must learn how to protect yourself online. Here are some of the very real online security statistics (via Cybint Solutions) There is a  hackers attack every 39 seconds, affecting one in three Americans each year. 95 percent of breached records came from three industries in 2016: Government, retail, and technology. 43 percent of cyber attacks target small business.  64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks.  62% experienced phishing social engineering attacks. 59% of companies experienced malicious code and botnets and 51% experienced denial of service attacks. The average cost of a data breach in 2020  will exceed $150 million  by 2020, as more business infrastructure gets connected. Since 2013 there are 3,809,448 records stolen from breaches every day , 158,727 per hour, 2,645 per minute and 44 every second of every day. Now, remember that its not just you, personally, who is exposed to these dangers.   Your spouse, and your kids, are also at risk.   And if they are compromised on your computer or even the same network, chances are that you are, too. The Basics: How To Protect Yourself Online In our age of internet connectedness, learning to protect yourself while on the web is a part of life.   But its all changing so quickly its difficult to keep up.   Bots, phishing scams, worms, trojans, fraud schemes, identity theft, and more.   Its time to start taking internet security education seriously, and theres a new publication out to help you.   Dr. Coles Online Danger: How To Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones From the Evil Side of the Internet delivers all the information you need in a comprehensive yet easy to understand set of how-to instructions.   Heres just a few of the tips he shares: You should use a password vault system, or a password protocol thats very difficult to guess, and never use passwords that are known to be easily broken. If possible, you should select one credit card for online use.   Set up alerts so you know whenever its used or when specified unusual charges are attempted. Always limit the amount of personal information you give anywhere online.   Give as little as possible, and get in the habit of questioning why its being requested. Turn off your devices when not in use. Dont leave open browsers unattended, even for a few minutes. Never open attachments to email unless you are sure of the authenticity of the sender.   Remember, even those links to touching or funny stories can be set-ups to compromise your personal information. Regularly backup important files to a secure device or file system.   And make sure the backup is password protected. Do not run or even download programs or apps from unknown sources. Use Common Sense Moreover, get in the habit of quickly and automatically asking yourself questions when youre online.   Does this make sense coming from this person?   Is there anything Ive done to invite this email?   Its always better to spend a minute verifying the source than to spend months recovering from a breach. Nows a perfect time to take action to protect yourself and your family.   Id suggest you start with Dr. Coles book.   Its a small investment for a huge helping of peace of mind.

#108 - Career Expert Series - Nick J.Murphy - CareerMetis.com

#108 - Career Expert Series - Nick J.Murphy The Career Insider Podcast Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | TuneIn | RSSForEpisode 108of The CareerMetis Podcast, we will be hearing from Nick J. Murphy.This interview is part of the “Career Expert Series“.evalGuest Introduction â€" Nick J.MurphyevalNick J. Muprhy is the host of the Job Lab Podcast and the founder of Mid America Careers.He is a former professional athlete, experienced HR Tech entrepreneur, father of 5, speaker and frequent media contributor on topics related to jobs and careers.Episode Summary1.After leaving the NFL and looking for a job as a transitioning athlete, Nick realized that the job seeking experience had some gaps that needed filling, and some issues that could use improvement.2.Nick shares the inspiration behind starting the Job Lab Podcast, and how a thought provoking question from his coach led him to create a platform for people to learn about the things he knew well.3.Technological differences in the job advertising m arket, as well as job seekers finally being heard are two things that Nick references when asked about changes within the career search.4.Nick gives a few solid suggestions when it comes to the job search: Be specific about what you’re looking for, and find out who can introduce you to the people you’re looking to meet. It’s not always about who you know directly, but who they can introduce you to.Quotes“I wanted to solve those problems and do things outside of the box and that’s not always possible in corporate environments”eval“What are you doing to make a difference?”“You need to reach out and see who you know”“If you want a job and you have the skills, chances are you can find one”“Finding what’s fulfilling and finding what fits you right now is the biggest challenge people are facing”eval“Be specific about what you want”Links ResourcesTo learn more about Nick J. Muprhy, you can visit hiscompany website.Nick can also be reached viaLinkedIn,Twit ter, orInstagram.Intro Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack â€" Siren KickbackEnding Music provided courtesy of Accelerated Ideas (www.accelerated-ideas.com). Soundtrack â€" No Need to Rush

The top 10 advantages of low-rent living - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The top 10 advantages of low-rent living - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog One of the biggest threats to happiness at work is having too many fixed expenses at home. When you?re completely dependent on bringing home a pay check (or two!) every single month, you?re vulnerable. If work turns out to be unbearable you can?t simply up and leave and take three months without income. Ive chosen low-rent living for myself. At first it was through accident rather than planning but now I would never live any other way. Read on to see how it has made me happy at work and in life. Some years ago, my wonderful girlfriend Patricia and I were hunting for a new place to live in Copenhagen. We were living in her small, 1-bedroom apartment and we really longed for more space, more rooms and a bigger kitchen. Homes are getting ludicrously expensive in all European capitals including Copenhagen, so we went through a process that is common to many people hunting for a new home: We started looking at places within our budget that we could easily afford. But those places werent really cool so we started looking at more and more expensive places Untill wed reached our threshold of pain and were only considering the most expensive places we could conceivably afford We actually submitted bids on two different (expensive) homes and narrowly lost out in each case to other bidders. Back then we were devastated we really had our minds set on those two places. Today were incredibly relieved that it never came through. Were still living in Patricias apartment which costs us next to nothing and looking back I can see how much of an advantage that has been for the both of us. Obviously this applies not only to your mortgage or rent but to all fixed expenses. Rent/mortgage just happens to be the largest fixed expense most of us have. Leaving lots of breathing room in my economy has brought me some huge advantages: 1: Freedom to leave a bad job When a job doesnt make me happy, I can quit without worrying about the money. Ive done it once, Patricia twice. Its not that weve quit at the fist sign of trouble we have always tried to make it work. But when weve realized that a particular job wasnt going to make us happy, weve had the freedom to say sayonara without first finding a new job. 2: Freedom to take a chance In the startup Ive been running the past three years Ive been able to take some chances and focus more on building a happy, sustainable business than on bringing home a big pay-check every month. It has allowed the business to grow organically which has paid off immensely now that the business is up and running. 3: Freedom to do what I enjoy I can decide to do stuff that lets me learn, meet interesting people or plain have fun but may not make any money here and now. This is a huge boon to me and my business in the long run because it means that Im constantly developing and learning. 4: Freedom to do whats right I can do whats right rather than what makes me more money. I can decide to work for free for a company that really needs me, but cant afford me. I can give stuff away if I think people need it. I can set a high ethical standard and not need to worry about having to compromise it for profit. 5: Freedom to work less hours Theres no pressure on me to work 50, 60 or 80 hours a week. I can if I want to and sometimes I do and if Id rather work 20 hours one week I can do that. Ive once and for all left The Cult of Overwork. 6: Freedom to say no to some customers Some customers just arent right for your business. The chemistry is wrong, their needs dont match your solutions or theyre just too much trouble. I have the freedom to say no to some customers and yes to the best customers. All of the above really comes down to short-term vs. long-term planning. Economic freedom lets you invest in your future by doing things now that make less money, but will eventually make you more. 7: Peace of mind I spend almost zero time and energy worrying about money its just not an issue. I also dont need to worry whether the interest rates go up or down half a point. Or whether there really is a housing bubble and house prices are about to start falling. Thats a huge relief and gives me more time and energy for business and life. 8: Focus on what really matters When Im not concerned with a bigger home, bigger car or bigger TV I focus on what really matters. My girlfriend, family, friends, business, writing, networking, learning, reading, etc I waste no time keeping up with the Joneses. 9: Simple living Living in a small appartment has taught us to own only the things we really need. Weve been getting really good at throwing or giving away clothes, linens, kitchenware, furniture, knick-knacks etc. that we dont use regularly. And this is a huge relief because you can form a huge attachment to the things you own and paring them down to only the things you really need teaches you to let go of that. Theres a mental relief and freedom that comes from that. Less stuff in your home = less stuff on your mind. 10: More money for fun stuff When less money goes into the stuff I own, theres more money for the stuff I do. Like snowboarding, conferences, travelling and more. I want to make two things very clear: 1: This is not about being unambitious at work or setting small business goals. I can assure you that my aspirations are as big as the next persons. Its about realizing that economic wiggle room frees you to do things and take chances that lead to more happiness and therefore to great results in your work life and your private life. 2: Im not knocking anybody elses lifestyle and financial decisions. This is simply an observation of something that I discovered mostly by accident but which works incredibly well for me. Maybe you would be terribly miserable living in a small appartment instead of a huge house. But I know that many people feel trapped in jobs they dont like because their financial situation is precarious and leaves them no wiggle room. If thats the case for you maybe you should consider trying the low-rent life and granting yourself some financial freedom. Its a huge step towards more happiness at work and in life. If you liked this post, I think youll also enjoy these: How to make yourself happy at work My lazy life Why secret salaries are a baaaaaaad idea Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

How Resume Writing Services Can Help You Get That Job

How Resume Writing Services Can Help You Get That JobIt's a popular misconception that resume writing services can create a quality resume in just a few hours or days. While this can be true in some cases, it's also a misconception that they are not capable of.Resume writing services have many professional writers who work tirelessly for their clients. These writers are employed to perform the job of writing the professional resume in a very precise manner. They are skilled in their writing and know how to make your resume stand out above the rest.A professional resume can turn an average employee into a successful employee. They are designed to provide a professional image of the applicant. This includes a standard format. The resume also contains some key elements that will help the recruiter and the employer evaluate the potential employee.If you have made the decision to hire resume writing services, don't be afraid to ask for a sample of their work. Ask to see samples of the res umes that they have already completed for past clients. This will give you a good idea of what the process may entail.Many people feel uncomfortable when it comes to creating their own resume. They find it too difficult or intimidating. With resume writing services, the potential client is provided with a resume template. This template is presented to the client and they fill in the blanks based on the professional template.With a template, it's much easier to create a professional looking resume. There are no technicalities involved. All that is required is a high quality resume and a little research.Finally, remember that the prospective employee will need to get to know you before ever meeting you. The employer needs to know the type of person that will be receiving the job. What types of skills do you possess?Online interview questions are often quite similar to each other so it's a great way to answer a few of these yourself. Not only does this improve your chances of getting a n interview, but it can build trust between you and the potential employers. With resume writing services, you will always come out looking like a professional and confident candidate.