The Road to Success Newsletter

If you would like to read this issue on the web, visit http://www.asparker.com/rtscareernew.html

	October 2008 You'll Never Walk Alone* Alvah Parker is a Career Coach who works with clients who are ready for a career change either because they are bored in their current job , ready to retire to find more satisfying work, or eager to find their life's calling to add passion to their current job. She helps her clients find work that is more meaningful and a true reflection of their values and behavioral style. Alvah has developed a unique Value Program designed to uncover the client's strengths, values and style. Another aspect of Alvah's work with clients is finding the client's life purpose. Alvah is an Authorized Life Blueprint® Facilitator and uses Laura Berman Fortgang's Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction Program . In addition Alvah offers follow up job search strategy sessions with clients after they have completed the Value Program and/or the Now What? Program. * Title of a song from Carousel by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein Using song titles is just my way of expressing my love of music and musical theater. Each time I come up with a title I rediscover a song I love. Special Offer for October I am happy to announce that I am adding a new assessment to my practice. Many of you have taken the DISC behavioral assessment which measures observable behavior. The new assessment is called Workplace Motivators^TM. Here is a description of the assessment and a special offer this month: The Workplace Motivators^TM The Workplace Motivators^TM assessment measures your responses in each of six attitudes. The computerized report shows each of six attitudes compared to a recently validated national average. You are provided with information on the WHY of your actions which, with application, can positively impact your life. "Valuing" Your Life and Others Once you are aware of the dominant attitudes contributing passion and purpose to your life, you will be able to clarify what drives your actions, as well as what causes conflict. For example, if you are currently questioning whether you are in the right career, knowing your attitudes will help you decide. If you are currently feeling bored or anxious in your current position, it can also provide clues to help you make your current career more satisfying. In addition, applying an understanding of attitudes to your relationships with others will deepen your appreciation of them and clarify the "why" of your interactions. Results and Benefits of the Workplace Motivators^TM The knowledge you gain from the Workplace Motivators report will help you take control of your decisions, your life's direction and your appreciation of others. You will: Know the "why" of your actions. Make career choices that are more in line with your underlying passions. Understand the causes of conflict in your life Develop an increased appreciation for the uniqueness of others Appreciate the viewpoint of others who see life differently Increase your "valuing" of life Increase your satisfaction and fulfillment in life The Workplace Motivators^TM report is a valuable tool for maximizing both your personal and professional life. For the month of October I am offering the Workplace Motivators Assessment taken online in the comfort of your home or office plus a 45 minute debrief with me by telephone to help you to understand fully how you can apply your motivators to your current situation for the total cost $125 (normally $150). That means you will receive: Online assessment Full 24 page report in an Adobe file to keep and refer to. A debrief outline to be filled in to insure that you get the most out of the report and coaching session. 45 minutes of time with me (the coach) to review the report and to help you to develop a plan to use your top motivators in your work and personal life. To order the Workplace Motivator Assessment and 45 minute debrief, send an email to asparker@asparker.com. If you have any questions about the assessment, feel free to call me at 781-598-0388. Be sure to check other offers for Career Changers. Table of Contents 1. Welcome 2. "Be Prepared" - Job Search Basics - 5 Steps to Find Your Dream Job 3. "Some Say" - Quotes 4. "Good News" - What's New? Welcome Road to Success is an email newsletter written for those who want to find new ways to approach their work and personal life so that their whole life is more fulfilling and productive. I write this newsletter on topics that I find challenging in my own work-life. As Lily Tomlin says, "The road to success is always under construction." I welcome your ideas and hints too. My vision for this newsletter is that it will be a means for us to learn from each other. While I'd love it if you read every word I write, I know that you are busy, so you skim. To help you do that I plan to keep this paragraph and the one above constant. If you are skimming, just jump to paragraphs three and beyond. What a month October has been! It is hard to ignore all of the news! I am trying to though because I know I can only impact my own life and business so what's the use of worrying about it. Hope that you are weathering the news overload in good spirits and feeling positive about your future. Looking for your dream job? What if you found a job description online that seemed like the perfect job? You will want to conduct a careful inquiry that allows you to determine if the job is right for you. This will probably mean applying for the job and presenting yourself as the ideal candidate and at the same time trying to determine if the job is "IT" for you. Finding your dream job means that you are researching the company while the company researches you. It is important that both you and the company feel confident that the match is a good one. My article this month addresses a 5 step process to do that. Hope you find it useful! November promises to be another month of news activity. Hope you can maintain a focus on your work, your career, and your family through all the noise! My Best Wishes, Alvah Parker Be Prepared* Job Search Basics - Five Steps To Find Your Dream Job There is a big payoff to a successful job search and that is finding the job of your dreams. Imagine being asked to work at a job that seems totally suited to your skills and talents. Better still you find that the work environment of the company is one in which you know you will thrive. So how do you find that dream job? Starting out on the search probably feels like an uphill climb. There is so much information out there on job searches that it can be overwhelming. Having coached hundreds of people in the midst of a job search there are 5 steps that will insure a successful job search. Do all 5 every time you apply for a job that matches your ideal job criteria and you are bound to find the perfect match. The first step is that you must tailor the resume to the job requirements. Every job seeker has accomplishments from their current and previous job but not all accomplishments are applicable to the job they are applying for. Carefully choose the accomplishments that bolster the case that you are perfect for this new position. Your resume paints a picture of you and should give a very clear message about your strengths and skills. Get clear on your message. There are many times during the job search to reinforce your message. The second thing you must do during the search is to make yourself memorable to the hiring manager by continually emphasizing your message. This means the cover letter reinforces that you have the right skills for the job as does the thank you note(s), any telephone follow up, the interview and all interactions. Once you have your resume for that particular job complete, review the strengths and skills that you have highlighted along with your accomplishments. The third important piece of the job search is to think of 4 or 5 stories that you could tell the interviewer to highlight your skills. Emphasize a time when that skill or strength was critical to your success. You will use those stories to help you to answer the interviewer's questions. Practice telling them so you can tell them clearly and with enthusiasm. The fourth step is to be sure to ask questions about the job and the company. Asking questions highlights your interest in the job and the company. This is the time for you to insure that this is really your dream job! Review your company research and your own ideal job criteria. Then write down your questions. Most interviewers ask the interviewee if he/she has any questions. Be sure to get your questions answered whether or not the interviewer asks for your questions! Finally after the interview, be sure to send a thank you note. Hand written notes are more personal and in this day of email and instant messages they stand out because they are different. If your hand writing is hard to read then a typed thank you note mailed through the postal service will stand out too. During times of plentiful jobs it is often easy to move from company to company and eventually if you are lucky you will find your dream job. If jobs are scarce however you may have to do a more proactive job search than you are used to. By implementing all 5 of these strategies you'll be in a better position to reap the benefits of finding that dream job you are looking for. Take Action Update your resume with your most recent job and show 4 or 5 accomplishments of which you are proud. Be sure the accomplishments are examples of your key skills and strengths. Write 4 or 5 stories to bolster your accomplishments and that highlight your strengths and skills. Write a description of your dream job so that you know it when you "see" it. Begin your job search. Song from the musical The Lion King* music and lyrics by Elton John and Tim Rice Some Say* Quotes Georgia O'Keeffe Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest. Earl Warren The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page usually records nothing, but man's failures. Epictetus One that desires to excel should endeavor in those things that are in themselves most excellent. Unknown Author Achieving starts with believing. Katharine Hepburn Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. Gandhi There is more to life than increasing its speed. Warren Bennis Great things are accomplished by talented people who believe they will accomplish them. James B. Conant Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. Title of a song from Once on This Island* by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty "Good News"* What's New? 1. Jobdig.com - Several of my articles have been published on this website. The latest was from the August issue of Road to Success, Where Did We Go Right - 3 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Bullet Proof Your Career. If you missed it you can find it here. 2. How Wall Street's Meltdown Will Affect Your Career - This Fast Company article will help you to see which careers may experience more layoffs than others and which ones are more secure. If you are interested in reading this article, go to the Fast Company website. 3. The Myth of Multitasking - Think you are good at multitasking? Read what neuroscience has to say about it. Go to this National Public Radio Website to read, view and/or hear this information. 4. Simple ways to donate - No Money involved! - The hunger site and the breast cancer site are two websites that allow you to make a donation with the click of your mouse. The hunger site donates a cup of food to the hungry each time you click. The breast cancer site donates one mammogram for each click. No money is involved here. The advertisers pay everything. All it takes is a minute to click. You are allowed to make the donation to each site once every day. 5. Change of Address - Many subscribers change email addresses during the year. I am always delighted when someone requests that I add the new address to my list. Just an additional request - since I like to keep my email list as current as I can, please send me both your old and new address so I can also remove your old address from my list as well. Send changes to asparker@asparker.com 6. Not receiving your newsletter regularly? - Many subscribers have a limited amount of email space provided to them (Yahoo, Juno etc). When you reach the limit you can no longer receive email. Another problem may be spm filters. Make sure that asparker@asparker.com appears in your address book to insure delivery. If you do not receive your copy of Road to Success* or Parker's Points one month one of these may be the reason why. I never resend the newsletter. I now publish the most current issue on my website http://www.asparker.com/rtscareernew.html * Song title from the musical Good News by Ray Henderson, B.G. Deserve, Lew Brown, Ann Morrison, Linda Michele, Michael Gruber, Wayne Bryan About Alvah Parker Alvah Parker is the Career Changers Coach. An award winning Account Executive and Sales Manager for AT&T for 15 years, Alvah has successfully coached others to define and achieve their career goals. At AT&T and now as a coach Alvah uses her knowledge of the work world to help her clients. Alvah is committed to helping her current clients find their life purpose. Once her clients know that purpose they are better able to select a career and job function that expresses that purpose. This leads to more satisfying and meaningful work experience. Alvah specializes in working with people in transition who are interested in exploring new career options. Her coaching helps her clients to get clear about their vision and then design a plan and strategy for the future based on that vision. Alvah coaches her clients over the telephone. This means she can be reached from anywhere in the world. You can reach Alvah at 781-598-0388 or asparker@asparker.com. You can find Alvah on the web at http://www.careerchangerscoach.com/ Copyright © 2008 all rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce or copy Road to Success in its entirety including copyright and contact information To subscribe to newsletter Complete the online form on our Newsletter Page. Please remember to confirm your subscription. This involves clicking on a link provided by a second email. You can manage your existing subscription by clicking your custom link at the bottom this message.
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