Building Connectivity and Engagement

Recently I attended a local job fair. Individually all of the participants, job seekers/employers/and organizers, did a good job … but some things were missing.

I came away from the job fair the same way I always do, frustrated and disappointed, as I suspect did many other people. I decided to offer some suggestions or “Tools Everyone Could Use” whether a job-seeker, employer, or organizer … see what you think.

What to keep, what to lose.

Your resume is an advertisement. A very specific tool to show a prospective employer you should be invited for an interview.

It is not your biography of everything you have done in your life. Too many resumes fail for this reason, my own included.

Take a few minutes, see what you should unpack, repack, and create a resume that shows your skills, your experiences, and why you are the best person to be hired.

What to do when you or someone you care about loses their job …

Employers call it different things, “Termination with cause, Termination without cause, Permanent Layoff, Downsizing, Relocation displacement, and many other terms;” what it is called doesn’t matter the effect is the same, you no longer have a job.

The impact can be both sudden and devastating. From my own personal experience how it affects you will change your life. What I have written today are some “lessons learned” from my own experience and from people I trust that can help. They can help you if you are experiencing losing your job, and/or they can help someone you know who needs help.

On the outside looking in – helping to find the way to where you belong.

There are times we all struggle. Some are able to “bounce back” more easily than others. For some, the harder they try the more mired they become. I have a friend who is one of the latter, I know how that feels because at times I have struggled myself. This post was inspired by how my friend is using the lessons of my own struggle to build themselves out of their struggle.

Subtleties of working with people … Take a short quiz.

I hope as an entrepreneur, manager, supervisor, or someone who aspires to take on any of those roles, you will ask yourself “Would you work for you?”

To be truly effective as a leader, you must consider the effects of your decisions, systems and processes, and their impacts on your people. My challenge today is to take a few minutes and consider the questions in this post. It is possible to be a manager but not a leader, considering this quiz may help you to become better at both.

Not as impossible as it might seem …

Have you ever wanted to complain about your boss but felt you had no mechanism that you could access, or do you feel that if you did, you would be the one punished not your boss? Some complaints are minor, others can be quite severe. Many of us feel frustrated and powerless to influence this situation.

Maybe there is a path you could try. Have you considered ways that you might be able to “manage your boss?”

What if it were your child …

I am writing this a few days before Christmas, my family is gathering, gifts and food have been bought, and we are not alone in these preparations. Like many Canadians, although I may appreciate and have awareness of what is happening to other people, they are an abstraction, in my reality I literally have blinders on, and we are blind to the reality our lives are not representative of the majority of people on our planet.

Yet, as I write this and as you read my words, life is happening for other people; and it is not the life we have. I hope you read this, and help to begin to make more of a difference for people who do not share in our prosperity.

GOING TO MARKET – Tips for Small and Medium-sized Organizations

The original purpose of my website was to offer free tips and advice to the people who run and work for small and medium-sized organizations. Admittedly I have diverged somewhat to include many of the community social issues that impact and also can be impacted by these same organizations. Working in the charitable sector also made me realize many other organizations could benefit from the “lessons learned” included in these tips.

Today’s post is about procurement and/or buying of products and services particularly for people who run and work in organizations where everyone wears multiple hats.

21 Questions/Lessons Learned

Small and medium-sized organizations, retailers, service companies, and even charitable organizations struggle even in good times. When inflation is high, the labour market is tight, and competitive pressures cause many sleepless nights it is an even greater struggle.

Success, the ability to adapt and overcome is achievable, a good place to start is to consider the lessons learned in “beware the rabbit hole.”

Don’t cry, learn from spilled milk …

People are the “everything” for any organization. What if I told you, your organization could be much more successful without seeing any more clients or customers than you are right now? Every organization has “spillage,” clients or customers who leave your organization unsatisfied.

Starting today, especially after reading this short introduction, you and your people, regardless of your place in our communities, can do better. Providing an “Exceptional Customer Service Experience” is the starting point. This is true whether your organization is dedicated to sales or an established charitable organization. Take 5 minutes and see what you think.