ARE YOUR GOALS IN FOCUS?

I have been doing some reading lately on success and what it takes. Each book or newsletter I read, all talk about the same things.

• Focus
• Hard work
• Perseverance
• Dedication

Some of these people are household names and some have quietly worked to gain their success without fanfare. Without exception, they all talk about thinking about what their goals before they go to sleep and first thing when they wake up in the morning. Some even keep pen and paper by the bed, so they can capture inspiration whenever it hits in the night. That is a lot of immersion into your goals. You have to believe in your goals. You have to really hunger for (not just want) your goals. In a sense, you have to be in love with your goals. Top Athletes Athletic champions are famous for their sustained concentration. They concentrate their energy and effort on what they want and block out anything or anyone who threatens that focus. Think of your favorite top athlete in the middle of a performance. A bomb could go off and they wouldn’t know it until AFTER they won. Picture Jackie Joyner-Kersee crossing a finish line, or Tiger Woods putting out a birdie, or Michael Phelps swimming the last lap, or Michael Jordan dunking the basketball, or Mia Hamm kicking the soccer ball over the goal line, or Joe Montana finding and making the connection to Jerry Rice for the touchdown – all are masterful in their focus and concentration. Champions What is true for athletes is true for champions in all fields of endeavor. Average people pursue loosely defined goals; champions concentrate on the attainment of a singular purpose with an almost obsessive intensity. Top performers invest significant time and energy in selecting their major goals. The masses consider making changes every New Year’s Eve. The goal setting and planning process is an everyday habit of champions. When goals are set, it is with persistence and ferocious tenacity that champions put on mental blinders and move forward. World-class performers create such an intense level of concentration to overcome challenges and achieve goals that it is the last thing they think about before they fall asleep and the first thing they think about when they wake up. In a real sense, the ‘breakfast of champions’ is goal setting and progress review. While average people see world class performers’ successes as a matter of intelligence or luck, champions know sustained concentration of thought and action is usually the true key to their successes. This becomes readily apparent when they do a celebrity game show, such as Celebrity Jeopardy. They usually don’t appear to be a genius; instead, they appear to be “regular folks.” Sustained concentration is a learnable skill. It is not something you’re born with; it’s something you develop through daily practice. So start your practice now. The Questions of Champions

• Are my habits, actions and behaviors congruent with the vision I have for my life?
• Are my goals sharply defined with deadlines?
• Am I focused on my goals, concentrating on the finish line?
• Am I tenacious and persistent in my execution, not letting challenges get in my way?
• Have I made a commitment to achieving my single most important goal in the next 12 months and am I willing to concentrate on achieving it – no matter what it takes?

These are the questions of champions that I gleaned from my readings. As the old saying goes, “The only place success comes before work, is the dictionary.” What are you willing to think about that much? Are you willing to work that hard for your goals? As Confucius said, “Get a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” That is the real secret to a champion’s success. They love what they do. Thinking about and relentlessly working on their goals, is fun for them. What would be that much fun for you? Do you need help finding that ‘fun goal’ for you? I can help you. We will sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get your ‘fun goals.’ Don’t wait, contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Are You a Match?

You and your office, is this a match made in heaven? If you’ve been working for a while, you know how a good sounding job may not be the day-to-day reality. If you know that, I’ll even bet that is now a ‘prior’ job. The office and corporate culture are a large part of any job. Finding a job that matches your skill set is one thing. Finding a job that matches your personality and working style is another. One size does not fit all, when it comes to finding the right corporate culture. Lasting success and job satisfaction come when the right job and the right culture all come together. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER What is your work style? What type of work environment suits you best? Only you know what will work for you. So be truthful in your self-assessment. Remember, what would be a cool workplace, may not be the best place for you to work. Where will you produce your best work? That is where your long-term job satisfaction will come from. Here are some questions to get you started:

• Do I prefer working alone or with a team?
• Do I want to build a career? Or, is it “just” a job?
• Do I want to work inside or outside or a combination of both?
• How many hours do I want to work in a day?
• Do I want to supervise others, or not so much?
• Finish this: “My ideal boss is …”
• What kind of pressure can I handle regularly?
• Am I willing to relocate?
• How much travel can I handle in my job?
• How much responsibility do I want?
• Am I willing to go back to school for more training?

When you do your research on prospective companies, determine as best you can, if their corporate culture is a good match for your working style. When you find a corporate culture that is a good fit for you, it leads to more than just job happiness. When you feel rewarded and your work acknowledged, you will work harder and move up the ladder more quickly. As you do well, you’ll get better and more challenging assignments, which in turn, will lead to greater job security. Even better, you’ll be paid more because you are more productive. So if everything else but the starting salary is good, take the job. CAVEAT EMPTOR Keep your eyes and ears open when you go for job interviews. Think of it as buying the job, so kick the tires a little. Do people look miserable in the office? Or, are they reasonably happy and content looking? Do they talk respectfully to each other? Is there some joking or is everyone somber? How do the cars in the parking lot look? The expected mix, or old and worn? Ask the receptionist why this is a good place to work. Ask the interviewer about the corporate culture. Ask what it takes to be successful at this company. If you’re a parent, how flexible are they for sick kids? Are you able to telecommute on those days? Observe the body language of the employees – relaxed, urgent, stressed, purposeful, or do they run with scissors? Check out their diversity figures to see if they really value it. Imagine yourself working there; what is that like? I had a client who interviewed at two large (nationally known) computer companies. His son’s T-ball games were very important to him. He asked during both interviews if leaving at 5:00 pm once a week to be able to make it to the games would be an issue. Both hiring managers said “no issues.” He went with Company A, because it was a better starting salary. The first week on Thursday at 5:00 pm as he was closing his office door, his manager looked at his watch and said, “You’re leaving?” He reminded the manager about the T-ball games. The manager said, “Ok” in a clearly disapproving tone. On Friday, the manager called him in to talk about “commitment.” My client called me, distraught over the reaction of his manager. Then he said that by Thursday at 5:00 pm he had already put in 40 hours and submitted his first project early. I advised him to see if there was still an opening at Company B. There was. He took that job (and the lower starting salary). The next Thursday, at 4:30 pm his new manger dropped by his office to see how his first week was going and … to remind him he had “to leave on time tonight” so he would be on time for the T-ball game. He’d noticed that he was putting in extra time. Wow! What a difference in corporate culture. It gets better. My client kept in touch with an employee of Company A. That division was severely cut back a year later and his old job was cut. So not only is he still employed, he is happily employed. Let that be you too. Do you need help finding the right job for you? I can help you. We will sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get the right job for you. Don’t wait, contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Is This You?

Many people have approached me for organizational tips and techniques recently. They all say that they need to get more done with less resources. Here are some of the reasons they cited:

• To juggle family and work better.
• All the kid’s activities are exhausting me – Help!
• Layoffs at work means more work to do for me.
• Since I lost my administrative assistant, I need help learning to file.
• My style is to stack stuff on my desk and cabinets, now I don’t have the time to search for what I need.
• I have to be more productive so I won’t lose my job.
• I am drowning in email.
• And on, and on.

Although there is a different reason for each person, I see three broad categories emerge.

• The life – work juggling act we all do.
• Productivity improvement.
• The new workplace.

LIFE AND WORK Today, let's talk about the successful juggling of work and life. I am not sure I believe in work — life balance. Balance implies one hour here for one hour over there. If you put in eight hours at work per day, it will be impossible to balance the rest of your life in eight hour increments. To juggle all of the aspects of your life successfully you have to decide what the important parts are and what is less important. The important parts are the things you commit to putting into the juggling rotation. I also like the juggling analogy, because expert jugglers usually juggle three items regularly. For short periods, to dazzle the audience, they will incorporate more items or more dangerous items (like knives or swords). In your typical day, you have work. What two or three other items will you choose to juggle? When holidays or special occasions come up, what will you add to your juggling act? What will you have to set aside for this period? LIFE IS A BUFFET LINE. Yes, you will have to choose. We get to the table and see all the choices and they all look so yummy. Therefore, we load up our plates: a lamb chop, some roast beef, oh, that chicken breast looks good! Don’t forget to have some vegetables. Oohhh, dessert! Chocolate cake, apple pie, banana cream pie, crème bruleé, marble cheesecake. We can’t eat it all, but we had to have it. Or we eat it and regret it. This is not sustainable or manageable as an eating style or a lifestyle. If life were a restaurant, life would be easier. We get the menu and choose one of each. That is healthier for us on many levels. In a restaurant, we expect to say no to the lamb chop and roast beef, so we can eat the chicken breast. We might talk our dining partner into ordering the cheesecake and we order the chocolate cake. Then, we just get a taste of the other, not the whole thing! We can manage that. We can sustain that. NEW TERRITORY Why don’t we expect life to set those kinds of limits on us? Because we have never been here before. At no other time in the history of our planet, have we had so many choices available to us. It all looks so tempting and good. We are overwhelmed with possibility. We don’t know how to choose. If we say no to that, what opportunity will be lost? So we say yes and then can’t figure out why we’re exhausted, overwhelmed and disappointed. Our great American work ethic is an enabler of this expectation. If you work hard enough, you too can be … Michael Phelps! Donald Trump! Carly Fiorina! Barack Obama! Oprah Winfrey! The list can go on forever to what or whom you aspire. In Michael Phelps's own words, he is “a freak of nature.” His body was created for fast, efficient swimming. Serendipitously, he loves to swim. Nature and nurture came together to create a sleek, swimming masterwork able to acquire gold medals in competition. In trying to emulate Michael Phelps, you disregard your unique talents and contribution to the planet. Be you. DISTRACTED IS THE NEW NORMAL We are so busy multi-tasking, trying to get it all done, trying to do it all; that we are living busy, rushed and distracted lives. We don’t even have the time or focus to enjoy what we are doing right now, because we have to prepare for the next thing on our To Do list. I am convinced we are so busy living 10 – 30 minutes ahead of where we are in time; it is jeopardizing our driving, our health, our lives. The driver, who just cut you off in traffic, isn’t with you on the road. They are already at the meeting and didn’t see you trying to merge onto the freeway. I was at my nephew’s all-star little league game. A parent was on the cell phone talking to a client. The son came over after rounding the bases and was waved away. I heard the parent say a couple of times, “it’s my son’s game you hear.” So, the son didn’t have the parent’s attention because of the client. The client didn’t have the parent’s attention because of the son’s game. The parent gave a poor to mediocre performance to both the client (that can’t be good for business) and the son (how much support did the son get?). At the end of the day, this person doesn’t understand why they are so tired and other people are crabby. And then, they think it’s a productivity problem. A favorite quote of mine by Robert Heinlein is, “In the absence of clearly defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.” What are your goals? Are your actions supporting your goals? JUST SAY NO I can hear some of you now. “You don’t know my life.” “You don’t understand.” “It isn’t me, it is other people who make me do all these things.” “It’s just the way it is nowadays.” That reminds of me of the universal Mom question, “You are telling me that if everyone else jumped off a cliff, you’d jump off too?” Don’t become enslaved by daily trivia that doesn’t support your goals. Repeat after me: no. No. Now – Say it out loud (I’m serious): no. Now say it with feeling: No! Really mean it: NO! I can’t hear you: NO! NO! NO! NO! NNNNOOOOOO! What were you saying “no” to? I’m sure something popped into your mind. Pay attention to that. It means something. Act on it. Do it now. If you need help determining what to keep and what to toss in your life, give me a call at 916.803.1494 or send me an email to eal@EALCoaching.com. We’ll figure it out together. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Cover Letters – the Secret to Getting an Interview

What is more important – the résumé or the cover letter? For many hiring managers, it is the cover letter. Here’s why. People often hire professionals to write their résumé, but they write their own cover letter. Some hiring managers do just glance at cover letters, but others study them, looking for reasons to read your résumé ... or to toss it in the trash. What do you include? You have created a great résumé that highlights your skills, knowledge, abilities and experience in the best possible light. What do you have left to give to the hiring manager? Remember, a résumé and a cover letter have different jobs. A résumé demonstrates that you can do the job. It is all about what you have done and your past accomplishments. A résumé is all about you. A cover letter matches you to the stated job requirements of a specific company and how you will fit into that company. The cover letter is all about the hiring manager’s needs. Assume every hiring manager will read your cover letter. Here are some ways to write an effective cover letter, following a tried and true advertising formula. After all, you are marketing yourself to the hiring manager. GET THEIR ATTENTION Your cover letter should have an opening paragraph makes them want to read more. Here are some ways to accomplish that:

• Drop the name of a mutual acquaintance in your first sentence: “Pat Smith in IT suggested I contact you about your need for a Project Manager.”
• Begin with an intriguing question: “How often have breakdowns in your customer service resulted in lost business and costly headaches? I can help you.”
• Be high energy: “I am very enthusiastic about your need for a HR professional in your Benefits department.”

Notice how “you” or “your” appeared a couple of times? The cover letter is all about the hiring manager and what you can do for THEM. This is your opening statement that tells the hiring manager what to expect from you when hired. DEVELOP INTEREST Next, tell the hiring manager what's in it for them by hiring you. Remember; focus on the hiring manager, instead of on yourself. What do you know about this kind of work that isn’t in the job advertisement? For one, you know types of challenges that are particular to this kind of work. Mention how you have resolved or neutralized these challenges in prior jobs. This presents you as a knowledgeable insider.

• “One of the challenges of great customer service is the varieties of people and situations. Coming up with a “best practices” for common events, helps to take the anxiety off the customer service desk.”

DEMONSTRATION TIME Take the top 3-5 key requirements for the job and match them to your specific experiences and accomplishments. This is particularly great if you can present your accomplishment in the Problem-Action taken-Results format and state the results in a quantifiable way. An example of this is:

• “Instituted a Customer Log of customer service issues. Was able to see repeat problems, came up with “best practices” for most events and quickly return mechanical problems to the manufacturer. This resulted in a 25% reduction in repair service time and $50,000 savings from the manufacturer.”

If your job is not “quantifiable” then tell a passionate story. For a social worker, tell how you helped turn someone’s life around. Go for the heart. Be specific about your accomplishments. The more specific, the better. A PERFECT MATCH Using the job ad, list the needs of the position you are applying for and match those needs to your experience and accomplishments. It is as simple as it sounds. This should not just be a restatement of your résumé. Here’s an example: Your Needs: Marketing experience My Qualifications:

• Five plus years as a successful marketing consultant.
• Significant consumer-oriented technology marketing in the retail industry.

Your Needs: Product Management experience My Qualifications:

• Led product-marketing efforts for an online store, resulting in a 12% sales increase.
• Spearheaded product management efforts for major retail chain as a product manager. This resulted in a 17% cost saving by streamlining the product line.

Your Needs: Leadership Skills My Qualifications:

• Leading by example, led projects and teams to highly successful outcomes.
• Ability to communicate through presentations to all levels of management. Strong ability to influence others.

A word of caution: For some of the more technically able among us, you may create a table and put needs/qualifications side by side. Or, for the more creative, you can use boxes or columns. If you copy this over into an email, be aware if the reader uses a plain text email viewer, it will hopelessly scramble your columns or table. Use the above, admittedly less elegant, design to ensure your intended information is received as conceived. Even if you decide not to use this type of document, this exercise will help you familiarize yourself with how close a match you are for the position to which you are applying. A few steps now will make it an easy task that can serve you well in the long run. THE CLOSING Ask for an interview. In the last paragraph tell the hiring manage that you want to interview for the job. Tell them that you will be contacting them to setup a meeting time. This is not the time for shyness. The interview is the next step in the application process, so go for it. “Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I am sure I can be an asset to (the Company). I would like to get together to talk in person. I'm available mornings until 12:00 noon. You name the time and date and I'll be there. I look forward to hearing from you soon.” You can send this as an attachment or as the email with your résumé as the only attachment. What is right for you? If it is an attachment, ensure your email is professional, with complete sentences. More than just, “See attached” in other words. FOLLOW UP! You have poured heart and soul into your résumé and cover letter. However, nothing happens! Send a follow-up email two weeks after your first résumé and cover letter, attaching your cover letter and resume. This will give you a second chance to get noticed. A two-week time frame means you aren’t pestering, just following up. In this letter, you inquire on the status of the recruitment, restate your enthusiastic interest, restate that you are qualified and acknowledge how busy they must be. Depending on the company, a hiring manger is conducting the recruitment in addition to all their other duties. So cut them some slack, but not so much you fall off their radar. That is why you wait two weeks to follow up. They are busy. A cover letter is more than just a business letter; it is a sales letter. Is your cover letter selling you to the hiring manager? Need help? I can help you! We will sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get the right job for you. Don’t wait, contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com

Is Your Résumé Current?

Is your résumé reflecting current trends? Even though we have covered résumés previously, since this is one of your main job search tools, another look is in order. THE RÉSUMÉ – REVISITED There have been a number of articles lately about résumés. The résumé is being updated for the 21st century. Are you current? There is no such thing as the perfect résumé. Sad but true. If there were, it would make life so much easier. You could just use that format; plug in your information, and voilá! You’d be done. Instead, you are faced with having to create the perfect résumé for the particular job you are applying for, for the particular person who will be reading it. You often can do research on the job and company to target your information for that particular job. You can use the company’s buzzwords; you can highlight your experience and accomplishments so that you will be the perfect fit. You will very rarely know who will be reading your résumé and what their preferred style is however. What to do? Keeping current on the styles and society’s lingo will get you far. What do I mean? Glad you asked. Remember back in the 1990’s and the TQM craze? Everything was about tying your accomplishments to Total Quality Management. If not directly, then you referred to how TQM informed your work, policies, etc. It was nauseating to read. The human resources professional will read a lot of … creative writing. They become cynical about accomplishments, they tire of reading the same trite words and clichés, they tire of the same old, same old on every résumé. THE OBJECTIVE Unless you are the seeking only one job, delete this tired old dinosaur from your résumé. What is the point of a résumé? The point is to tell the hiring manager what is in it for them (WIIFM) to hire you. This is YOU in your absence. This is a representation of you, who you are, and what you can do for the hiring manager. The point is to pique the hiring manager’s interest, to have them want to meet you. The function of a résumé is to get your foot in the door and get you an interview. An objective is all about what you want. The hiring manager doesn’t care about you at this point. They want an answer to their vacancy. Be the answer with your targeted résumé. Instead of The Objective, put in a Summary or Profile. This will summarize your key attributes, accomplishments and skills. Think of this as your written elevator speech or Brand You Sound bite. Résumé real estate is too valuable to waste with what you want. Everyone knows you want the job. That’s why you applied. Don’t waste space with the obvious, or as Homer Simpson would say, “Doh!” CLICHÉS Résumés that have clichés may prevent you from being hired. You know the ones:

• Results-oriented professional
• Team player
• Excellent communication skills
• Strong work ethic

These are trite phrases that won’t get you a second look from a hiring If you’re looking for a job as a communicator (sales, writer, HR, manager, etc.) saying you have “excellent communication skills,” won’t get you noticed. Demonstrating excellent communication skills will. Be clear and specific. Describe how you are a team player. Use a thesaurus for better word choices that are dynamic and action-oriented. Results will make you stand out. That’s how to move your résumé to the top of the pile. When everyone uses the same words and sound alike, employers can’t get a good read on who you are. It sounds cookie cutter or as if you all used the same résumé writing service. That is deadly. Provide specific terms and concrete examples to show you are a “goal-oriented” person. We are now living in a fast-paced, dynamic world. Demonstrate that in your résumé. Provide a bulleted list of your import skills (important to the specific job you are applying for). Make it easy to see who you are and what you can do for the employer. A résumé should be a branding document. It should be the best version of YOU that it can be. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Have your most cynical friend or family member read your résumé. If it won’t convince them, it won’t convince an employer. Employers look for skills, knowledge, abilities and experience. Make your results stand out. Ask yourself the following questions as you critique your résumé.

• Is it clear? Is it concise? Does it make you look good?
• Is it inviting to read, with clear sections and ample white space?
• Is the design professional? Does it contain bullets, boldface and lines to help the reader?
• Are your sections clearly labeled and placed to highlight your strongest credentials?
• Is the work history in reverse chronological order (most recent job first)?
• Are your accomplishments quantified with numbers, percentages, dollar amounts or other concrete measures of success?
• Do your accomplishment statements begin with strong, varied “action” verbs?
• Are your grammatical tenses consistent?
• Is it free of typos, spelling, grammar and syntax errors?

Start your computer, get set and start writing! Is your résumé is selling you to the hiring manager? Need help? I can help you sort through your skills, experiences and your dreams to get the right job for you. Don’t wait, contact me now. A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com